Slow Cooker Winter Vegetable Soup w/ Red Lentils

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 large yellow onion, diced

  • 3 celery stalks, diced

  • 3 medium carrots, trimmed, peeled, and diced

  • 2 medium zucchini, ends trimmed and chopped into 3/4-inch chunks

  • 3 Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into 3/4-inch cubes

  • 3/4 cup split red lentils

  • 1 cup canned chopped tomatoes (with their juices)

  • 2 dried bay leaves

  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

  • 5 cups chicken stock

  • 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt, plus more

  • freshly ground black pepper

  • 2-3 cups finely sliced savoy cabbage, reserved for later

  • extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

  • freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley (or basil), for garnishing

  • freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, for garnishing

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In your slow cooker (this recipe will fit a 4-quart capacity slow cooker)add the olive oil, onion, celery, carrot, zucchini, potatoes, split red lentils, chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, chicken stock, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir together. Cook on high heat for 4-6 hours, or until the red lentils are tender (or alternatively, cook on low heat for 8-10 hours).

  2. In the last hour of cook time (or 2 hours, if you are cooking over low heat), add the thinly sliced cabbage. Remove and discard the dried bay leaves and any tough thyme sprigs. Adjust the seasoning to taste salt and pepper – you will most likely need to be liberal on the salt for this soup!

  3. Serve the soup and top each serving with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley, and freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano.

Recipe adapted from abeautifulplate