Roasted Garlic and Red Lentil Soup

No matter how cold it is where you are, a bowl of creamy Roasted Garlic and Red Lentil Soup would make a hearty addition to a winter meal. This soup is vegan and gluten free (although when I served it, I garnished it with crisped prosciutto), not to mention easy to make. Serve it with a salad and rustic bread for a light, warming meal.

I hurried my husband out the door recently so we could check out the snowfall (dusting) here in the Phoenix area. It doesn’t happen often, so it’s exciting, but no way do I want it around for the entire winter. Today, the temps are in the 70s and that’s just fine with me. The high temps won’t last, and it really does get pretty cold here (we’re talking 30s at night, people!).

But winter is winter, and January is National Soup Month — what better time than now to make this recipe for Roasted Garlic and Red Lentil Soup?

My love of garlic is strong, so imagine my delight with the aroma that filled the kitchen as I roasted the garlic for this soup. Plus, there’s nothing special to add to make this soup creamy — it does all the work for you. This is a super-simple soup to make, and it’s amazing how flavorful this dish is, considering a relatively short list of ingredients.

This soup is a vegan and gluten-free recipe. I chose to add crisped prosciutto as garnish, but there are so many options, like sour cream, cashew cream, green onions, or simply a sprinkling of fresh thyme leaves.

If you’re one to use your tablet in the kitchen (think following along with online recipes), I think you’ll like the Spider Monkey from Octa. The Spider Monkey is an adaptable stand for tablets.

It’s simple in execution, and so handy. A flexible steel skeleton serves as the base of the holder, which you can configure in so many ways. It was easy to position it to sit on my kitchen counter. I added my tablet (in its case, even) and could easily check out a few things online that I needed help with as I worked my way through this recipe. It’s not just for the kitchen, but that’s one of my favorite spots for the Spider Monkey.

Whether it’s bitter cold, snowing, or the sun is shining where you are this winter, nothing beats a warm and flavorful soup. Roasted Garlic and Red Lentil Soup is creamy and easy to make. It’s easy to double the recipe to make sure you have leftovers, or if you need to feed a few extra diners.

I was not compensated by Octa for this post, but I was provided with a Spider Monkey to try. The opinions here are my own.

Roasted Garlic and Red Lentil Soup
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 large heads of garlic, outer paper removed, and separated into individual cloves (with skin on)
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 large celery stalk, diced
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed and sorted
• 1 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Add the garlic cloves to a baking sheet and drizzle with one tablespoon olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes.
2. About 20 minutes into roasting the garlic, add the remaining olive oil to a Dutch oven or large stock pot over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.
3. Add the carrot and celery and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the remaining vegetables begin to soften.
4. Add the vegetable broth and 1 cup of water to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the red lentils and cook with the lid off, for about 20 minutes. You can reduce the heat slightly to bring the boil down a little.
5. As the lentils cook, you'll find that the liquid is absorbed. Toward the end of the cooking time, add the remaining 1 cup of water and cook until done.
6. When the garlic is fork tender after about 40 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Remove the lentils from the heat. When you can handle the garlic, simply squeeze it from its skin, and into the lentils. Discard the skin.
7. Use a stick blender to blend the mixture until smooth. Season with the salt, black pepper, and thyme. You can return to the heat for about 2 minutes to warm everything through.
8. Serve hot in individual bowls, topped with your favorite garnish like sour cream or crisped prosciutto.

Serves 4