Meatless Monday with Lentil Vegetable Soup

Hello and welcome (back) to the Miratel blog for another Meatless Monday. We took the Meatless Monday pledge as part of our CSR business initiatives in support of reducing meat consumption one day per week to improve the health of people and the planet. Every Monday we share a different vegetarian recipe and try to keep them as simple and do-able as possible.

Autumn is upon us, and nothing is better on a cool, crisp night than a warm bowl of soup and today’s recipe for lentil vegetable soup will be a perfect choice. This soup combines healthy lentils with celery, onions, garlic, carrots and pasta for a well-balanced nutritional and hearty soup.  The original recipe called for low-salt chicken stock which we have substituted with low-salt vegetable broth and it’s just as delicious. This recipe comes courtesy of the Food Network’s Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis.

Lentil vegetable soup courtesy of foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound lentils (approximately 1 1/4 cups)
• 11 cups low-salt vegetable broth
• 4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2/3 cup dried elbow pasta (regular whole wheat, spelt or gluten-free)
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan (omit if vegan or substitute with vegan option)

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the lentils and mix to coat. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and serve

This recipe makes six portions and takes about and hour and a half to cook so you may want to prepare it on Sunday and put in the fridge to heat up for a quick dinner Monday night. A great time saving tip is to cook large batches of soup (such as this one) when you have time and then freeze it in meal portions for future dinners. Complete this meal with some (preferably whole grain or gluten-free if you need) crostini for dipping in the soup with a side salad and you have a perfect weeknight meal.

We encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the pledge to reduce meat consumption one day per week. It’s easy with simple and delicious recipes like this one. Spread the word at work to promote the value of CSR business initiatives and make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant, hotel or salon even greener.

Enjoy!
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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.