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Lentil and Escarole Soup

5.0(666)

The combination of legumes and bitter greens like escarole is common in southern Italy. Escarole is a bitter lettuce that looks a little bit like frisée but with wider, tougher leaves. It’s high in vitamin A and a good source of iron and potassium. This recipe is adapted from one in “Cucina Rustica,” by Evan Kleiman and Viana La Place. If you can't find escarole, you can substitute any hearty green.

by Martha Rose Shulman

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Dinner, Easy, Lunch, Weeknight, Appetizer, Main Course

Servings

Serves four to six

Total time

1h 10m

Calories / serving

205 kcal

Ingredients (13)

serves

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oilextra-virgin-olive-oil
1 small onion, finely choppedonion
1 large or 2 small carrots, cut in small dicecarrot
3 to 4 garlic cloves, mincedgarlic
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakesred-pepper-flakes
1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes, with juice; or 3/4 pound tomatoes, seeded and gratedtomato
1 cup lentils, washed and picked overlentils
A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a few sprigs each thyme and parsley, and a Parmesan rind
6 cups waterwater
Saltsalt
freshly ground pepperpepper
1 small head escarole, washed and roughly chopped about 6 cups
Optional: 4 to 6 slices country bread, toasted and rubbed with a cut clove of garlicbread

Instructions (3 steps)

01Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly and smell fragrant, five to 10 minutes. Add the lentils and simmer with the tomato mixture for a few minutes, then add the bouquet garni and the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and add salt to taste (1 to 2 teaspoons). Cover and simmer 30 minutes.