Anyone have a good Lentil Soup recipe?

My mother used to make lentil soup on Good Friday and I can't find her recipe and I really miss it (hated it when I was a kid, of course). It was simple with lentils and broccoli and some noodles, more of a stew than a soup, but I have no idea how she made it because I never thought I'd ever want to eat it again.

Life is funny.

and just add lentils instead of the barley. Sorry, but it's just a list of ingredients a friend gave me. She threw all of this into her crockpot. She's worse than me when it comes to recipes. :rofl:

It was very good, tho. :hi:

2/3 lb crimini mushrooms
1/3 lb button mushrooms
2 ounces shittake mushrooms
1 chopped med sized yellow onion
4 -5 cloves chopped garlic
2 carrots,chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2/3 cup barley
3 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup merlot
black pepper to taste

I am not vegetarian, so I cook some ham with it, but that's optional.
"In a large pot saute' 3 minutes:1/4 c. olive oil; 2 large onions, chopped; 1 carrot, chopped. Add and saute' 1 minute more: 1/2 tsp. each dried thyme and marjoram leaves. Add: 3 c. stock or seasoned water; 1 c. dry lentils, washed; salt to taste; 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley; 1 lb. canned tomatoes. Cook in covered pot until lentils are tender (45 min.) and add 1/4 cup sherry. Have ready 2/3 c. grated Swiss cheese. To serve place 2 T. of grated cheese in each bowl and top with soup."

In the winter there's not much better than a bowl of homemade lentil soup with some freshly baked rolls or bread. In fact there's not much better at any time of the year (at least given recent summers). Forget any notion of soaking and boiling lentils for hours on end, this recipe takes about 30 minutes from start to finish and is almost as good as it gets.

Ingredients
• 500g Lentils
• 2 medium or one large onion
• 4-6 carrots
• 3 pints of water or stock
• Smoked rib (optional)

Instructions
1. Rinse the lentils well in cold water. This is important! If you don't rinse them thoroughly your soup will not have the lovely velvety texture we're aiming for.
2. Peel and roughly chop the carrots and onion(s).
3. Put the lentils, chopped vegetables and 3 pints of water or stock into a large pot and bring slowly to the boil. The absolute best results will be achieved using the stock from boiling a gammon or ham, but few of us do that these days. You can use a vegetable, chicken or ham stock cube to provide a bit more flavour, but plain water is fine. Include a smoked rib if you want an even greater depth of flavour. Simmer gently for about 25 minutes, or until the carrot is cooked but still firm.
4. Allow the soup to cool for 10-15 minutes if possible, then liquidize to a smooth consistency. I use a wand type liquidizer and like a slightly coarse texture with a few chunks of carrot still visible.

Serve with fresh bread or rolls and butter, and season with plenty of black pepper.
the accidental smallholder © 2003 R&D Champion Smallholding. All rights reserved.
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Now, I don't use the smoked rib, use chicken broth instead of water, and don't run through anything to liquidize them. But it's a great recipe. There's probably a few spices I add (but that's on the hard copy - I'll go check and then edit if necessary).