parmesan lentil soup

Tonight I made one of my final "eat through the kitchen" meals.  I'm about ready to say the challenge is done.  Mainly because I haven't bought meat in a month and half and all I have left is a ham.  My appetite and pallet is screaming for beef and I'm going to give in this weekend. I'm also out of pasta sauce, ingredients to make pasta sauce, and some other items.  Last night's dinner was mini tortilla pizzas:  BBQ chicken and pepperoni.

The following recipe, which isn't my own, was made using ingredients I had on hand.  The only thing I had to buy was the Parmesan rind, which was inexpensive.

It was easy to make and it tasted good.  It was more like a stew, though.  Very thick.  I added another cup of water and that helped a little bit.  Not sure why it was so thick, since I followed the directions to the letter.  The picture in the original recipe shows a thinner soup.

If you don't eat pasta as a post-op, just scoop around it.  I don't eat pasta anymore, so that's what I did.

Parmesan Lentil Soup

Serves 6

Recipe by Carlene Thomas, RDN, LD (Link to recipe)
Adapted from The Best Vegetarian Recipes by Martha Rose Shulman

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small white onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped into rounds
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 14-ounce can tomatoes with juice, seeded and chopped (or 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes)
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
1½ cup lentils
1 chunk Parmesan rind
1 bay leaf
Salt
Black pepper
½ cup small pasta
Garnishes: lemon thyme, grated Parmesan (optional, I didn't use the thyme)

Directions

1. Over medium heat in a large pot, add onion, carrot and garlic with oil. Cook and stir until everything is tender for about five minutes.
2. Add in tomatoes, turn heat to medium and bring to a simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in the lentils with chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil.
4. Add Parmesan rind and bay leaf and reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Add salt and cook for another 15 to 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
6. Add pasta and cook until pasta is done.
7. Top with more cheese, black pepper, salt and lemon thyme. (Optional)