Pasta and Lentil Soup

It's getting colder and I'm so glad!  I'm ready for soup and chili and sweats, big sweatshirts and fuzzy socks.  Bring it on!

In an effort to add to my soup arsenal I found this recipe and decided to try Lentils for the first time.  I can't believe it either. I mean Lentils are fairly common so what's taken me so long to try them?  I have no idea.  This falls into that "Better late than never" category.

This recipe was super easy to make and I loved it!  My husband and daughter....not so much.  It's a texture thing with my husband (he doesn't like split pea soup either) and my daughter is completely hopeless. :)
This came together pretty quickly and the plus side for dry Lentils is that you don't have to soak them overnight.  You can cook them for 20 minutes and they're nice and tender.  Easy. This recipe calls for canned Lentils but I only had dried so just use what's easiest. I only added the minimum amount of hot pepper flakes because I'm sort of a wuss when it comes to spicy but you could certainly spice this up as much as you can handle.

Start by cooking some onions, garlic and red pepper flakes in some oil.

I pre-cooked my lentils so they'd be ready.  The recipe called for canned however so you can use whatever you have.

You'll want to remove about a tablespoon of the flavored oil before adding the rest of the ingredients.  Next add some tomato paste.

Then add the chicken broth and water.

If you have a block of Parmesan cheese, add some of the rind.  If you don't; don't worry about it.

Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Now add the Lentils and simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes until the pasta is cooked.

In the dish that you've got your flavored oil in, mix in 1 Tbsp water and 1 Tbsp parsley (I used a little less dry parsley - if fresh use 1 Tbsp.)

In the soup add 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and the remaining parsley (again, if using dry add a little less).

Remove the cheese rind and salt to taste.

When serving pour a little bit of the reserved oil/water/parsley mixture on top with a little additional Parmesan cheese.

This recipe was found in "Food Network Magazine" October 2011

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp Olive Oil plus more for drizzling
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus 1 rind (if using)
8 ounces Orecchiette or other small pasta
2 14-ounce cans of lentils (1 undrained, 1 drained and rinsed) I used dry lentils that I pre-cooked and then guessed at how much liquid to add.
1/3 cup roughly chopped parsley (I used about 1/4 cup dry)
Kosher salt to taste

In a large pan, heat the oil, onions, garlic and red pepper flakes until the onions begin to soften.  About 2 minutes. Remove 1 Tbsp of oil and set aside.
Add the tomato paste and cook for another two minutes. Add the chicken broth and the water and mix well to break up the tomato paste. Bring up to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 5 minutes before adding the lentils. Cook on low for 10-15 minutes so the pasta can soften.

Meanwhile, add 1 Tbsp water and 1 Tbsp fresh parsley to the reserved oil.  Set aside for garnishing the soup before serving.

Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and the remaining parsley and stir to incorporate. Remove the cheese rind (if using) and salt to taste.

Serve with a drizzle of the reserved flavored oil mixture and some additional cheese. Crusty bread would be delish with this.