Chef Joey's Red Lentil Soup

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I am always looking for something different for my dh and myself to eat during the long chilly days of winter. we both love soup and today i came up with this recipe. it is such a gorgeous red soup. it is so tasty and very hardy, a real stick to your ribs type of meal. this would be great served with some hummus and a nice warm piece of flat bread on the side. :-) if you use soy sour cream and veggie soup broth you can make this vegan.

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Steps

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Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot.

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I used my large cast iron dutch oven.

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Add the chopped onion and garlic and saute until soft.

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Stir in the lentils and cumin and cook for one minute or until you can smell the cumin and the lentils are well coated.

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Stir in the agave , bay leaves and 7 cups of soup broth and being to a boil.

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Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Cover the soup and reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft and falling apart and soup has thickened up.

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Then add the canned tomatoes and continue to cook for another 15 minutes.

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The tomatoes have an inhibiting affect on the lentils softening.

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You can add a little more soup broth to thin the soup if it is too thick.

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When done remove bay leaves , stir in the wine vinegar , and serve with dollops of sour cream or yogurt.

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Bon appetit !.

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Ingredients

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olive oil, onion, garlic cloves, red lentils, ground cumin, tomatoes with juice, agave nectar, bay leaves, chicken broth, red wine vinegar, sour cream