Wintery French Lentil Soup with Beef, Carrots, Sherry Vinegar

Wintery French Lentil Soup with Beef and Carrots
Sherry Vinegar, Parmesan, Cilantro

Chase away those winter blues with a hearty healthy cold-weather soup. Quick and easy preparation plus wholesome ingredients make this soup a shining star. And as a bonus, eating lentils in the new year is said to bring luck and prosperity.

This lentil soup is a bit different from the traditional, as ground beef, French lentils, and carrots share the stage equally. A drizzle of sherry vinegar adds that bright sharp counter-balance to the rich soup and earthy lentils. Cilantro brings fresh herbal notes while cumin and chile powder add warm spice overtones. A generous dusting of grated Parmesan adds the nutty components. This simple, humble soup actually has a complex flavor profile.

Wintery French Lentil Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 1/2 t. chile powder (or to taste)
• 4 to 5 c. beef stock
• 1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
• 12 oz. french lentils, steamed (we like Trader Joe’s pre-cooked)
• salt and pepper
• sherry vinegar
• parmesan, grated
• large handful of cilantro, rough chopped

Method:

Heat oil in a soup pot. Add onion and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook until lightly golden. Then add the carrots, cumin, chile powder, and beef stock. Bring to a simmer. When carrots are al dente, add beef and cooked lentils. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Add cilantro, reserving some for garnish. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To Serve:

Place soup in warmed bowls. Drizzle with sherry vinegar, dust with Parmesan, garnish with cilantro.

Food Network

COMFORT FOOD FEAST

featuring

Soup

#ComfortFoodFeast is a season long franchise where Food Network editors team up with bloggers to share recipes about everyone’s favorite comfort foods. This week’s comfort food is soup. You might enjoy taking a peek at other soup recipes from some fabulous bloggers below… and be sure to follow our very popular Pinterest Board with over 370,000 followers called Let’s Pull Up A Chair!

The Lemon Bowl: Slow Cooker Posole Rojo
Creative Culinary: Split Pea Soup with Carrots and Ham
Homemade Delish: Italian Cioppino Soup
Taste with the Eyes: Wintery French Lentil Soup with Beef, Carrots, Sherry Vinegar
Elephants and the Coconut Trees: Tomato Soup
Dishing with Divya: Roasted Cauliflower and Carrot Creamy Vegetable Soup
From My Corner of Saratoga: Pressure Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup (in a slow cooker)
Red or Green: New Mexican Green Chile, Turkey & Posole Soup
The Heritage Cook: Creamy Cheesy Potato Soup (Gluten-Free)
In Jennie’s Kitchen: 14 Sensational Soups
Big Girls Small Kitchen: Winter Squash & Chickpea Ribollita
The Mediterranean Dish: Mediterranean Spicy Spinach Lentil Soup
The Mom 100: Spicy Thai Chicken and Rice Noodle Soup
Healthy Eats: 5 No-Brainers for Improving Chicken Soup
FN Dish: Soup’s On! 5 Warming Must-Make Bowls