Noodle soups are the best because they’re everything you love about an entree without any of the fuss. You’ve got your carbs, protein and veggies all in one place! In this recipe, creminis and brown lentils team up to create a beefy soup that hits all the noodly notes. I love cavatappi because it holds its own with all of the hearty ingredients, and won’t fall apart if you have leftovers. If you can’t find it, fusilli would be nice, too. Using dried lentils is crucial here to create a rich, complex broth, so don’t sub cooked lentils, lazypants.
Notes
There’s a lot of finger wagging on the best way to clean mushrooms. If you’re on a televised cooking competition, sure go ahead and wipe each precious one with a damp kitchen towel that has no cat hair on it. But if you’re in the privacy of your own kitchen go ahead and wash them in a bowl with cold water, swishing them around a bit to get the dirt, then drain, trim and slice. It’s ok if they get “water logged” because, guess what, they’re going in soup anyways.
You can even buy presliced mushrooms to save time! No one's judging.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 ribs celery sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 10 oz cremini thinly sliced 3 cups
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Fresh black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme plus extra for garnish
- 1 1/2 cups peeled carrots sliced on a bias 1/4 inch thick
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup dry brown or green lentils
- 1/2 lb cavatappi or fussili
Instructions
- Preheat a 4 quart soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion and celery in the oil with a pinch of salt until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds or so.
- Add mushrooms, salt, pepper and thyme and saute until mushrooms are soft and golden, about 5 minutes.
- Add carrots, vegetable broth and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes depending on your lentils.
- Turn heat up to a low boil, add pasta and let cook for about 10 minutes or until pasta is done. Turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper and serve.
