By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- 5(250)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Minestrone might be a familiar soup, but here it takes on a new flavor: celery. The celery, which may be lingering in the fridge having played a minor part in another recipe, adds a dimension of flavor to the mix that ordinary minestrone just doesn’t have. Celery has long been used in Chinese medicine to help control high blood pressure. It is also an excellent source of Vitamins K and C, and a very good source of potassium, folate, dietary fiber, molybdenum, manganese, and Vitamin B6.
Featured in: Celery as the Main Event
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 1cup lentils, rinsed
- 1onion, halved
- A bouquet garni made with 2 sprigs each thyme and parsley, a bay leaf, and a Parmesan rind
- 1½quarts water
- 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1medium carrot, diced
- 3celery stalks, diced
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
- 128-ounce can chopped tomatoes, with liquid
- Pinch of sugar
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼cup chopped fresh parsley
- Very thinly sliced celery, from the inner heart, for garnish
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
186 calories; 3 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 1142 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Preparation
Step
1
Combine the lentils, ½ onion and the bouquet garni with 1 quart water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, add salt to taste, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Step
2
Chop the remaining onion. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic and a pinch of salt. Stir together until fragrant, about 1 minute, and add the canned tomatoes with their liquid and the sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down somewhat and smell fragrant.
Step
3
Add the lentils with their broth, the tomato paste, salt to taste, an additional 2 cups water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper, stir in the parsley and serve, garnishing each bowl with thinly sliced celery heart if you want some crunch, and passing the Parmesan at the table.
Tip
- Advance preparation: This will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator. It may require thinning out. It's even better the day after you make it. I have a teenage son and he just about polished off the leftovers - which should have served 3 - the day after I tested the recipe.
Ratings
5
out of 5
250
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Cooking Notes
Kit
This felt overly complicated. Why not just make it like every other soup: onions first, then celery and carrot, etc, all in one pot? Will definitely save myself the washing next time. Anyway, it was tasty. Stuck a bit of toasted sourdough at the bottom of the bowls.
MM
This recipe produced an unusually bright, fresh-tasting lentil soup thanks to the separate preparation of the lentils and vegetables at the beginning, which was no bother at all. The vegetables retained their integrity and color instead of turning the same color as the lentils too, which made for a prettier than average result. I made it exactly as written (but with de puy lentils) and will return to this recipe in the future.
CFXK
Yes, it does. Though one type may not be preferred over another for this soup, the cooking times and resulting textures vary significantly among the different kinds of lentils. Red cook in as little at 15-20 minutes and get creamy-mushy (which is fine for soups), while brown and green can take up as twice as long to cook, get creamy, maintain their shape. So better just to monitor the timing in step one than assume thirty minutes
nan
I followed the beginning of the recipe but I found the lentils were already cooked (and almost overcooked) after 30 minutes so I drained their liquid and didn’t add them to the stage after the tomatoes, I saved the drained liquid to add with the tomatoes. The flavour was good but I agree it was more complicated than it should have been for a simple soup.
dimmerswitch
Enjoyed this made as written but for one modification. That is we like to 'toast' the tomato paste in the pot in Step 2 prior to adding the canned tomatoes instead of adding the 'raw' tomato paste with the lentils and broth in Step 3 as written. And for Step 1, it took our lentils only about 20 minutes to be 'ready'. Good day of, better made a day or even two ahead, freezes well.
Sue
I followed recipe since first time making this soup. The lentils did not overcook and made a nice broth. However I did use chicken broth that I made. Helped the overall flavor. The sliced celery and parsley added a nice touch of flavor and crunch!
Andrea G.
Absolutely loved this recipe and followed it exactly as described. The raw celery at the end added a nice and much appreciated crunch. I used green lentils and they were perfectly cooked. I could always use more garlic!
JoAnne Owens
Needs some umami. I probably won't make this again.
Judie
Excellent! I used San Marzano tomatoes from Costco. This utilizes ingredients one is likely to have on hand. I didn't have a Parmesan rind, and it was delicious despite that. A keeper.
Jana C
I am not a huge fan of lentil soup, but I made this as a vegetarian option for my guests. I was pleasantly surprised, and was so glad there were leftovers. I used petite French lentils. The flavor was of minestrone.
Heather
60 minutes of cooking for the lentils seems long. Did anyone else cook them for 60 minutes? I’m worried they’ll fall apart.
dimmerswitch
Enjoyed this made as written but for one modification. That is we like to 'toast' the tomato paste in the pot in Step 2 prior to adding the canned tomatoes instead of adding the 'raw' tomato paste with the lentils and broth in Step 3 as written. And for Step 1, it took our lentils only about 20 minutes to be 'ready'. Good day of, better made a day or even two ahead, freezes well.
jorgi
I thought it was tasty. I added some mini pasta shells to it just to stretch the meal out a bit, for my hungry family. Cooked them right in the soup.
nan
I followed the beginning of the recipe but I found the lentils were already cooked (and almost overcooked) after 30 minutes so I drained their liquid and didn’t add them to the stage after the tomatoes, I saved the drained liquid to add with the tomatoes. The flavour was good but I agree it was more complicated than it should have been for a simple soup.
Elaine
Under seasoned. Needed salt, pepper, a high note, more herbs.
CFXK
It does tell you to salt and pepper and adjust other seasonings to taste. If yours was under seasoned, I don't see how you can blame the recipe.
Grace
I feel like this soup should be spicy
MM
This recipe produced an unusually bright, fresh-tasting lentil soup thanks to the separate preparation of the lentils and vegetables at the beginning, which was no bother at all. The vegetables retained their integrity and color instead of turning the same color as the lentils too, which made for a prettier than average result. I made it exactly as written (but with de puy lentils) and will return to this recipe in the future.
Tessa
This was easy and super tasty! I really enjoyed it and was surprised at how delicious it was with so few ingredients.
Ralph
Neither my wife or I were impressed with this minestrone recipe. I wasted a can of San Marzano tomatoes and a good amount of Parmesan cheese. I’ll not make it again.
Renee
Celery is criminally underrated. This soup was really simple to put together and felt so nourishing to eat.
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