- If you thought lentils
were bland and unsexy, you have got to try this
Italian lentil soup. I guarantee you'll
make it on repeat. Every time I make
a soup like this, I kind of picture
an Italian nonna, lavishing all of the
love into one big pot. So this is exactly what it is. It's so comforting
and flavor packed, so delicious, hug in a bowl. Medium-high heat.
Nice, big pot here. And then we're gonna go in with
some extra virgin olive oil. So we have a Holy
Trinity situation: onion, carrots, and celery. Going right in here. These have been
chopped real small. They give so much flavor. They're part of this whole
soup party right here. Give them a quick toss, and give them a nice
big pinch of kosher salt and a nice big pinch
of black pepper. Season as you go. That's what Nonna would do. Gonna season. Black pepper. Toss, toss, toss. Brown or green lentils. I'm using our lentils from
TheMediterraneanDish.com, French Green Lentils. And one cup will give you a
nice, big pot of comfort here. The good thing about lentils... Of all God's legumes,
I love, love lentils. They are so easy to use,
they cook very quickly, and you don't need to
soak 'em overnight. So we're gonna use one
of these bowls here. We're gonna rinse
up our lentils, and then we're ready to go. And we're gonna let this
party sweat just a little bit while we rinse our lentils. (water running) These veggies are sweating
nicely. They're tenderizing. They smell delicious. I'm adding garlic
here to this party. So next, I'm adding a nice big
can of some Marzano tomatoes with their juices and
a little bit of water to kind of rinse the rest here. Just use your spoon to kind
of break up the tomatoes or smash 'em just a little bit. I wish you could smell
this. It's so good. Good things are happening. We're going in now with
some vegetable broth. You can use any broth you like. I just like vegetable broth, keeping it all
vegetarian sort of meal. And then a dry bay leaf
goes right in here. Stir that all in. And then for seasoning, we're gonna go with a good
tablespoon of Italian seasoning. I'm gonna kind of
eyeball it here. This is my homemade
Italian seasoning. It's very easy. You probably have a few
jars of stuff to use up. Combine them and make
this beautiful seasoning, or store-bought Italian
seasoning is fine. One tablespoon
goes right in here. Probably another big
pinch of kosher salt. Season as you go. Perfect. A pinch of black pepper, too. Our one cup of
rinsed green lentils. Brown lentils will work.
Black lentils will work. Someone's gonna ask,
can I use red lentils? If you want to use red lentils, try one of my other
red lentil recipes. Red lentils have a
different texture than black, brown,
and green lentils. They will kind of dissolve. It'll be delicious, but it'll be a completely
different situation. So you want the lentils
to hold their shape. They will get tender, but they will not completely
collapse into the soup. So I am using green lentils, but like I said, brown
or black will work. We wanna bring this
party to a boil. This party is happily bubbling. I'm gonna give it a quick stir,
turn it down, keep it going. And then add your
lid on top part way, allowing it to breathe. 20 minutes, and
we'll be right back. (upbeat music) All right. Let's see
what's happening here. Gentle simmer. I can smell all the goodness. Your key here is to make sure that the lentils
are nice and tender. So you're gonna want to
give that a try real quick to determine if this is ready. But otherwise,
it's looking great. The flavors from the garlic,
onion, Italian seasoning, the beautiful San
Marzano tomatoes. Oh. So good. Don't go anywhere.
We're almost there. We're gonna do a couple of
big handfuls of spinach, about a couple of cups or so. I'm not measuring. I'm just gonna stir. Spinach wilts very fast,
so you really don't need to cook this super
long or anything. Just as soon as
they begin to wilt. And then we're gonna finish up with a nice, big
cup of fresh parsley and a shot of red wine vinegar. Don't forget this little
shot of red wine vinegar. It can transform
the entire soup, making it even more
bold and flavorful. The acid brings out all
the flavors together, and it just brightens it, but you don't even know
why or where it is. It's just perfect. If you've ever... Like I said, if you've ever
thought lentils were bland, try this soup. And it's also so
hearty and filling. Lentils are full of
all the good things, especially plant-based protein if you need that in your life. Definitely a hug in a bowl. So let's serve it. Ready to serve. This is a big pot of goodness. It's filling, delicious. Those lentils are full of
good-for-you everything and some plant protein. I am so excited for this. It's beautiful, thick, hearty. For me, I like to add
a little bit of parm and maybe a pinch of
red pepper flakes. Totally optional. Why stop here? Go all out with
the flavor party. You know what I mean? (upbeat music) So good. Mm! David. More energy. More footwork. A home run of a lentil
soup, because man, all of the beautiful
flavor here. Such a humble pot of goodness. It's exactly what really good
Italian food tastes like. Don't tell me it's not like
how your nonna makes it. I know that, 'cause we
all have different nonnas, so we all have
different lentil soups. It's okay. But you should really
give this one a try. Mm. Mm. I have a million soup recipes
right here on the channel, and a couple more lentil soups, because you're gonna be a
lentil person once you try this. So make sure you check
out the next video. Find the recipe for
Italian lentil soup over on
TheMediterraneanDish.com. I will see you later. Ciao. Mm. Thank you, Nonna. (upbeat music)
