Giada De Laurentiis Makes Lentil Soup | Everyday Italian | Food Network

This is the easiest soup you will ever make. We're gonna start with the base flavors of our soup. Onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. A little bit of salt to dry out all the liquid. We're gonna add some freshly ground black pepper and just gonna toss them all together. And I'm gonna let them simmer for about, I don't know, about five to eight minutes. They're gonna slowly break down. The next thing we're gonna add is some canned tomato. The tomato adds a richness to the soup that's really fantastic. So we're gonna add our tomatoes. All right, we'll let that sit till the liquid evaporates and the tomatoes start to break down. And in the meantime, I'm gonna grab my lentils. Now we're gonna use about a pound of lentils, which is one and a quarter cups. And I'm just using regular lentils. They have sort of a beige and grayish color and they don't fall apart when they're cooked, so they're really smooth and creamy. They're easy to eat. You can have them in a salad, in soups, in stews, or, you know, just plain. Lentils with some onions, it's really fantastic. You know, lentils were known as a food for the poor centuries ago. And then during World War II, when food was scarce, people took an interest in lentils again. And now, everybody loves them. Now, we're gonna add some chicken stock. And I'm using low-sodium chicken stock, just so I can control the amount of salt that goes into this dish. And about 11 cups. It needs to absorb all the liquid in order to cook properly. There we go. Lentils are a great meat substitute. Because they're so rich and creamy after they're cooked, it's almost like eating meat. And the chicken stock gives it another layer of flavor. So if you wanted, you could use vegetable stock. There we go. And the pre-made chicken stock is just easy and convenient. Sure, I can make my own, but if I wanna whip up the soup, I wanna have some things already made for me. All right. That's about right. I'm gonna give it one last stir. Make sure nothing's stuck to the bottom. Oh, gotta add one more flavoring. Some fresh thyme. That lemony taste to it, a little minty, lemony taste. Goes really well with this dish. So add a little bit of thyme. And you can actually add the whole stalk in, and the leaves will just fall off after 30 minutes. I have to check on my lentils, which look great. It still needs is some elbow pasta. And this will make it thick and rich. A meal. And I'm gonna add about 2 1⁄3 of a cup of this pasta. That's about right. Stir it. And the pasta will need about eight minutes to cook. A sprinkle of Parmesan on top adds creaminess and gusto.