Red lentil and mushroom soup (Dinner)

Red lentil and mushroom soup (from Canada's food guide)

This flavourful soup is perfect for those rainy days. The best part is it does double duty: save leftovers for tomorrow's lunch, or make a double batch and freeze for a busy day.

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 30 min

Servings: 6

Freezer-friendly

Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 10 mL (2 tsp) extra virgin olive oil

• 1 pkg (227 g/8 oz) mushrooms, chopped

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 carrot, chopped

• 60 mL (¼ cup) chopped fresh parsley

• 15 mL (1 tbsp) dried oregano leaves

• 10 mL (2 tsp) dried thyme leaves

• 1 mL (¼ tsp) hot pepper flakes

• 250 mL (1 cup) red lentils, rinsed

• 750 mL (3 cups) sodium reduced vegetable broth

• 500 mL (2 cups) water

• 2 mL (½ tsp) grated lemon rind

• 30 mL (2 tbsp) fresh lemon juice

• 75 mL (⅓ cup) crumbled light feta cheese (optional)

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat and cook mushrooms, onion and carrot for about 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates from the mushrooms. Stir in parsley, oregano, thyme and hot pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute.

2. Add lentils and stir to combine. Add broth and water; bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover partially and cook stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until lentils are soft and falling apart.

3. Stir in lemon rind and juice. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with feta cheese, if using.

Tips

• Love mushrooms? Play around with the type of mushroom or use different types together. Try cremini, shiitake or oyster mushrooms.

• Not a big fan of mushrooms? Leave them out. Use two onions and two carrots in the recipe instead.

• Switch up your lentils. Just note that different types of lentils take different cooking times, so check the instructions.

• Try using less of the ingredients that are high in added sodium, sugars or saturated fat. Adding salt or sugars directly to your recipe? Remember, a little often goes a long way.

Recipe developed by Emily Richards, P.H. Ec. for Health Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Source: © All rights reserved. Canada’s Food Guide: Recipes. Health Canada. Reproduced with permission from the Minister of Health, 2022.