Cold-Fighting Lentil Soup

This past weekend was what I'd call an "ideal weekend." Lots of relaxing, hanging with friends and family, and eating delicious food (with a little productivity mixed in). We went to a concert (and Falafel Corner) Friday night, met up with friends at Stoddard's Saturday night, and watched a ton of TED Talks and "Shameless" on Sunday. Yesterday, we both did a little work before getting a new TV stand for our office, and gorging on Stone Hearth Pizza.

My friend Lisa and I at Stoddard's.

The beer I drank while watching "Shameless" (highly recommend this brew).

Our new TV stand and TV - we used to have a giant armoire in its place.

Despite having such a lovely weekend, Z and I are both getting over colds. Mine's been lingering for a solid 1 1/2 weeks, and Z's showed up a few days ago. On Valentine's Day, Z requested some kind of lentil soup for dinner, so that's what we had - but I made sure to pack the soup with a ton of cold-fighting nutrients, too. 

Cold-Fighting Lentil Soup

Yields: 8 servings

Adapted from Real Simple

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-1 yellow onion, diced

-1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained

-6 cups water or low-sodium vegetable stock (I used 2 cups stock, 4 cups water)

-2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

-1 bunch kale, thick stems removed and roughly chopped

-1/2 cup brown lentils

-Dried thyme

-Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

-Salt and black pepper

-Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1.) Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, breaking them up with a spoon, for 5 minutes.

2.) While the tomatoes cook, heat the sweet potatoes, in batches, in the microwave for 3 minutes per batch. (This will help prevent the potatoes from having the texture of rocks; I find the potatoes take much longer to cook than the lentils).
3.) Add 6 cups water/stock to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the sweet potatoes, kale, lentils, thyme, crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Simmer until the lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
4.) Spoon into bowls and top with the Parmesan cheese, if using.

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This soup is very similar to my Hearty Kale, Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup, but this version's much more packed with vegetables. It also made a bigger batch, and I love the simplicity of flavors in this version. Z and I both definitely felt healthier after a big bowl of this!

Have you come down with a cold yet this winter? I feel like I'm catching a cold every two weeks this year!

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