Lentil and Beef Soup

Time: 2 hours | Serves: 4–6 Nature: Warm | Flavor: Salty, Sweet

Recipe Source: Travis Kern

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seed, ground
  • 1/2 tsp chili flakes or Aleppo pepper
  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 3/4 cup white wine
  • 3 sprigs thyme (1 tsp dried)
  • 2 cups dried lentils (green, brown, or black), rinsed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • 8 oz frozen spinach or collards

Directions

  1. Preparation: Combine ground beef, ground fennel, chili flake, red wine, and 1 tsp of salt together and mix thoroughly by hand until tacky. You're basically making a quick Italian sausage. In a heavy bottomed stock pot, add 1 TBL of cooking oil and brown the ground beef mixture, breaking it up into smaller pieces with a spoon. Remove meat from the pot and reserve.

  2. Build the Base: In the same stock pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, garlic, and celery and sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 15 minutes until softened. Turn heat up to medium-high. Add the beef and any juices back to the pot and add the white wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze any stuck bits.

  3. Let It Stew: Add the remaining ingredients except the greens into the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about an hour until lentils are tender. Stir in the greens and heat thoroughly. As the lentils cook, the broth will thicken and can begin to stick to the bottom of the pot. Monitor your liquid and heat levels and periodically stir the soup to prevent scorching.

  4. Finish and Serve: Adjust the salt and pepper to your tastes. Lentils and other starchy food usually require more salt to be tasty than you might imagine. Serve with hearty bread and good salted butter or delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. Consider topping with a little white or rice vinegar for some acidity to balance the starches.

Learning Lentils

Lentils are an excellent source of complex nutrition and dietary fiber. They are versatile ingredients that can be used in a variety of soups, stews, and curries, and unlike larger legumes like kidney beans, they don't require any presoaking or prolonged cooking times. Keep French green lentils or brown lentils in your pantry for a quick meal or as a protein and fiber boost for your favorite saucy dish. Red lentils make a great Indian or Ethiopian curry, and long-cooked black lentils will make the creamiest stews around.

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