It’s been raining almost all day long in Helsinki today. When I say rain, think of a huge bulk of water pouring down from the sky. Seriously, there were no drops, there was one MASSIVE drop I believe. So of course, this horrible weather immediately prompted me to make soup. Because soup saves life.

 

 

This chunky soup is good not only for shitty rainy days like today, but it’s good even on rather cool summer days (yes, we have cool summer days in Helsinki). It’s a combination of many ingredients, easy to get a hold of, so the taste is rich, it’s nutritious and just one bowl of it is enough to fill your stomach in a very healthy way.

 

 

I cut onion, carrots and celery as small as possible so that they are close to the lentils in size and they don’t overpower the texture of the soup. I love puy lentils and I wanted it to stay as the star ingredient of this soup.

 

 

 

It’s still raining as I am writing this blog post. I saw the streets of Helsinki flooded this much for the first time this morning. My shoes, socks, backpack and coat were still even after my regular Friday lunch gig. It shows some nice bits and pieces of good weather in the following days so until then, I’ll just hide under my blanket, eating my soup.
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Ingredients:

 

Difficulty: Easy
(serves 4-6)

 

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

 

2.5 dl (or 1 cup) raw puy lentils, first boiled for 5 minutes separately* and then drained
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced small
2 medium size carrots, diced small
2 stalks of celery, diced small
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1 can diced tomato with juice (1 can: 400 gr.)
2 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1.5 lt (or 6 cups) vegetable broth (or water)

 

lemon juice, to drizzle on each bowl of soup (optional)

 

*Boiling instructions are in this recipe: https://mydearkitcheninhelsinki.com/2018/08/31/puy-lentil-tabbouleh-ish-salad/

 

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1. In a large pot, put olive oil on medium high heat and let it warm for about 20 seconds. Add onion and sauté until translucent, for about 3-4 minutes.

 

 

 

 

2. Add carrots, celery and garlic and continue to cook by stirring for 2 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Add canned tomatoes and continue to cook by stirring for 2 more minutes.

 

 

 

4. Add cooked lentils, stir.

 

 

 

5. Add dried oregano, pepper and salt and stir.

 

 

 

 

 

6. Add vegetable broth (or water), stir and cover the lid to boil. I leave the lid of the pot ajar. When the soup starts boiling, turn down the heat to medium low and simmer for 25 minutes. The soup is ready when all the veggies are well cooked, but everything still retaining their texture (so don’t overcook to make everything mashed!). Let the soup rest a little after cooking with the lid closed, then serve. Drizzle freshly squeezed lemon juice before eating, if you like. Enjoy!