Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Lentil Soup

The only lentil soup I've had up until this past weekend was the stuff out of a can. Or maybe I had homemade lentil soup once. I vaguely remember that, but I think I tried it when I was a kid and didn't like it for whatever reason.

So I decided to make it myself. This recipe is a basic one that I tweaked a bit.

Ingredients:

Part 1

4 tablespoons of olive oil

Part 2

4 medium carrots, peeled and diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 large onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

Part 3

2 cups of dried lentils, rinsed

1 small can (14 1/2 oz) of diced tomatoes, drained

1 teaspoon of dried thyme

1 teaspoon of basil

1/2 teaspoon of oregano

1/2 teaspoon of marjoram

10 cups of water

Part 4

1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar

Salt to taste, roughly 2 teaspoons

Cracked black pepper to taste

Heat Part 1 over medium-low heat and then add Part 2 until the veggies and aromatics are tender. Stir in Part 3, bring it to a boil, reduce the concoction to a simmer, and simmer it for approximately 45 minutes. At the end, turn off the heat and stir in Part 4.

As you can imagine, this soup was much better than all the lentil soups I've had before, and it's certainly not as salty as that stuff.