Greek Lentil Soup

I was given an amazing cookbook for my birthday this year ... The Essential New York Times Cook Book! It's huge. It's hardback. It's wonderful! I could not wait to choose a recipe to try and waited only a few days before trying a soup.

I love lentil soup although my hubby is not such a fan. In order to please us both I decided to make this soup along with other Mediterranean foods including falaful, pita, tzatziki, hummus, etc. We had a scrumptious Greek buffet for dinner which was fabulous! It's a good thing I decided to include all those side dishes because as it turned out I misread the soup instructions and allowed only two hours cook time rather than three, so there was actually no soup for dinner that night.

The soup was amazing for lunch the next day though!

So, if you like lentil soup (and even if you don't) give this one a try. Allow plenty of time for cooking as it does cook forever but it's worth it. I shared this soup with co-workers and they all raved about it. Even my hubby said it was delicious!

Faki (Greek Lentil Soup) from The Essential New York Times Cook Book

1 lb green lentils
8 cups warm water
1 large onion, chopped
 2 - 3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 small stalks celery, finely chopped
5 - 6 canned Italian-style plum tomatoes and their juices
1 large bay leaf
4 sprigs parsley
chopped mint, basil or oregano to taste (I used about 2 TBS mint)
 1/3 cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
red wine vinegar

1. Wash and pick over the lentils, and place in a soup pot with warm water to cover. Let stand for 1 hour.
2. Bring the pot of lentils to a boil. Add the onion, garlic, celery and tomatoes, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
3. Stir in the herbs and oil and season with salt and pepper. Continue to simmer, covered, for another 1 1/2 hours or until the soup is very thick and the lentils are tender. Stir occasionally. Add 2 TBS red wine vinegar toward the end.
4. Serve hot with additional vinegar on the side if desired.

*** a couple cooking notes suggested in book***
use regular green lentils
be generous with the salt as the lentils really soak it up
it makes ALOT of soup so be ready to share it or freeze it