Italian Lentil Soup
Serves: 8 | Prep time: 30 minutes | Total time: 2 hours
My immediate family, native to Western New York, is a fun, American medley of different European nationalities. We are Irish, German, English, Hungarian, a few other things, but most importantly—Italian. As a young child, I had the supreme privilege of being cared for by two amazing, non-Italian, grandmothers. Grandma Donadio was tied only with Grandma Gray in the contest of grandmothers I loved the most. One had married an Italian, and one had married an Irish man who loved Italians. As a result, each would make elaborate meals for me and my family, most of which I refused to eat or had to be bribed into eating (candy being the preferred currency). Unfortunately, both died before I was in middle school, and one of my biggest regrets is that I was never able to fully enjoy their meals as the voracious and curious eater I am now. What would they feed me in my 30s? What could I feed them? If I had my way, it would be this soup. My favorite. A somewhat spicy, veggie loaded, Italian soup with white beans and no pasta. Slow cooked Swiss chard, perfectly tender potatoes, all topped with the fresh vibrancy of parsley. Lisa can’t have bread, but for the grandmas, I would make bread for dipping. This dish is equal parts hearty and heartwarming—perfect for those you love the most. <3
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled, and cut into chunks
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or more!)
1 28oz can peeled plum tomatoes, Italian brand if available, hand squeezed or roughly chopped
8-10 cups veggie broth
2 bay leaves
1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems removed and sliced thinly into a chiffonade
1 15 oz can Cannellini beans
1 cup brown lentils
4 medium sized Yukon potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot on medium heat. Sauté garlic until it’s fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the onion and the carrots, sprinkle red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté the vegetables until they begin to soften, 7-10 minutes.
Roughly chop or hand squeeze tomatoes and add juices to pot; let sit for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes are kind of sticking to the pan. DO NOT STIR!
Next, add a splash of wine if you have some to spare (it couldn’t hurt!), then stir in the stock with the bay leafs, add the greens and the legumes. Give it a few turns to mix everything together and bring to a boil. Bring the heat down to a simmer and cook uncovered.
After about an hour, add the potatoes and more broth if needed. Cook for an additional 45 minutes until spuds are soft and lentils tender.
Finish this dish by mixing in the red wine vinegar.
Top with a heap of Parmesan cheese, some parsley leaves, and gluten-free crackers or bread (if you’re not actually GF).
