This morning, I woke up to two scenes; the first was on my phone, a picture of a sunset on Hillarys Beach, sent from my sister, who’s currently visiting family half-way around the world from us in Perth, Australia. The second one, outside my window, of clouds and rain. My first response was to feel a little disheartened about the rainy day.
We have been completely spoiled in the Northeast with our Fall this year, I don’t even feel justified to complain about the cold and rainy Tuesday we are having. I remember it snowing the day before Thanksgiving last year, and this year we were hiking and playing tennis the day of. It feels obvious to say, but it’s amazing what a difference the weather can make. My parents grew up in South Africa, and my dad always says he never remembers the weather being a topic of conversation. In the winter months here, the temperature and road conditions dictate our lives, whether we like it or not.
With the week starting out wet and dreary, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. Since making my White Bean Soup for the first time, it’s been repeated regularly throughout this season. It was about time I added another soup to the rotation. I love making a batch of lentils at the beginning of each week to add to salads. This week though, I decided to include them in a soup. I added all my favorite vegetables, and didn’t even bother with vegetable stock, I simply used water. I tend to be a bit shy about using too many spices, but the cumin contributes an incredible flavor and warmth to the soup, as well as a delicious aroma to my kitchen. The combination of lentils and butternut creates the creamiest consistency. I had initially planned on pureeing the soup after cooking, but was reminded that lentils disintegrate in soup, creating the velvety base, and a great backdrop for the different textures of the variety of chopped vegetables.
My favorite way to enjoy soup is in a mug; It fits comfortably in my hand, and I believe makes the soup taste even better. Cuddled up in my pajamas with my warm mug of soup, I longingly think about my sister in the warm Australian sun, and also feel grateful for where I am at the present moment, enjoying my new favorite soup on our cold, dark, rainy night.
- 1½ cups Red Lentils (uncooked)
- 1 tablespoon refined Coconut Oil
- 1 large Yellow Onion
- 1 large Carrot
- 6-8 cups Water (or Stock)
- Sprig of fresh Thyme
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin
- 1½ teaspoon course Sea Salt
- ½ large Butternut (about 3 cups), chopped
- 1 Zucchini
- ½ head of Swiss Chard, stems removed and leaves chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar
- Place the lentils in a medium sized bowl and cover with a few inches of water. Cover with a plate or a kitchen towel and leave to soak overnight.
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots, and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Drain and rinse the lentils and add to the pot with water (or stock) and spices. Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes.
- Add butternut and zucchini, cover, and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
- Add swiss chard and red wine vinegar and cook for 5 more minutes.
beautiful liora! i adore the combination of lentil and swiss chard together. i can completely relate about how the weather dictates our fate in the winter. i used to live in rhode island! but it’s no different out here in south dakota – crazy snow and ice falls here too (i must subconsciously like it). keep warm sweetest lady! xo
You are too sweet, Danielle- thank you! Oh wow, Rhode Island is so beautiful, I love visiting there in the summer.. Watch Hill is one of my favorite places around here. Sending you warm wishes as well!
This looks so delicious, Liora, and I love your beautiful mugs — so colorful and cheery!
Thanks, Anna! The mugs were a birthday gift from a good friend, I love them.
Girlfriend, I feel you. It has been cold, wet, dreary and pretty gosh darn miserable here in NC for the past few days. Crawling back into bed and slurping on this delicious soup sounds pretty darn good to me right about now! I love lentils and butternut squash, but would have never thought of pairing them together! SO genius! I love the textures and flavors going on here! Soup slurpin’ perfection! Cheers and I hope the weather clears up for us both!! 😉
Your comments always make me smile! Happy to report that the weather report’s definitely looks better for the next couple days!
What a pretty soup! Lentil soup is one of my all-time favorites and I LOVE butternut squash – this combo sounds amazing! Love those pretty mugs 🙂
Thanks, Keri! I also love butternut squash, I seem to be putting it in everything I make lately!
This is such a great soup recipe. I love lentils in soup and don’t make them nearly enough so I’m really going to enjoy making this recipe. It’s so funny reading your posts about the Northeast because that’s where I live too! Do you live in NY? I can totally relate to last year’s winter vs this year. I live in NH and we lost electricity on Thanksgiving and didn’t get it back until four days later. My “turkey” last year was a can of cold tuna and this year I was in a light sweater with a few windows open enjoying the mid 60 temps. I moved from FL to NH 3 years ago and, so far, this is the first winter where I haven’t broken down crying every 2 days that I’m moving back home 🙂
Thanks, Karrie! I cannot believe your Thanksgiving last year, and I’m so happy NH redeemed itself this year for you. NH is such a change from FL, I can’t imagine moving from beautiful weather to our harsh winters. I’m in CT but not too far from NY.
Cumin is one of my favorite spices and I bet it is just so wonderful in this soup! Such a healthful and comforting bowl of so many beautiful ingredients. And such pretty mugs too.
Thank you so much, Emily! I have started cooking with cumin a lot more lately.. I love how warming it is.
Soup in a mug is the best! And I have the exact same teacups as you- they are so comforting to hold during the colder months. I can totally relate with the weather- I’ve been in Scotland for the past week and it’s been raining nonstop, which means I’ve been craving and eating all things warm and starchy! xo
Soup in a bowl just doesn’t feel the same 🙂 I hope you’re having an amazing time in Scotland despite the rain. You’ll have to share your favorite Scottish dishes with us!
Hey Liora, your soup looks lovely! Yes cumin and red lentils are so well matched, I just love cumin so much, it earths a dish. Such a good idea to make a batch of lentils and use them in the week. I’ve done that recently with green lentils and frozen them and now they’re like granite in the freezer and I need a pick-axe (and a miner) to get at them so I suspect they’ll stay there for a while! xx
Thanks, Amy! I’m really enjoyed cumin lately as well, it adds a whole new depth of flavor to this dish. That’s so funny about your frozen lentils… I always think I’m being productive freezing extras but it never works out too well for me either.
Mmmm soup in a mug is just wonderful. Especially how you’ve described it. I love that you didn’t puree this soup. The chopped vegetables add such a nice texture. Beautiful presentation and words. Happy I landed on this page this afternoon.
Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I really enjoyed the chopped vegetables in the soup, I think it made it more satisfying. I’m so happy you stopped by!
This soup looks so warm and comforting! Perfect for a rainy day. We have our fair share of those in the Northwest, so I know how the rain can get to you sometimes! It is nice to be able to cozy up on days like that with soup like this!