Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, Rosemary and Feta Cheese

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Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, Rosemary and Feta Cheese

Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, Rosemary and Feta Cheese

It’s harvest time, and I just love it! There have been so many phone calls from friends and family wondering if I would like some treasure or another from the garden. Last weekend my good friend, Annabelle offered me fresh herbs from her garden: rosemary, bay leaves, thyme (various kinds), sage, lavender and oregano: what a windfall! I piled my car with arm- loads full of fragrant herbs and the next day found me busily sun drying many of them in the gorgeous late summer sun. However, I reserved bunches of fresh herbs for this very special red lentil soup. Having made it before, I knew that the fresh herbs turn this soup into an intoxicating concoction. Honestly, I always have to go back for seconds! So, if you find yourself with a bounty of herbs in your garden, I suggest that you give this recipe a whirl. I just know you won’t be disappointed. I found it in one of my favourite local Canadian cookbooks, “Rebar Modern Food Cookbook“, by Audrey Alsterberg and Wanda Urbanowicz.

I will be bringing a huge tureen of this delight over to Angie’s Fiesta Friday tonight.  I just bet that many of the gang have bunches of herbs waiting for an awesome recipe like this one. If you haven’t checked out Angie’s virtual blog party yet, you don’t know what you are missing!  We love new comers, so please come and join us!

Fresh herbs are the game-changer in this soup!

Fresh herbs are the game-changer in this soup!

Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, Rosemary and Feta Cheese

Ingredients:

2 cups red lentils

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 teaspoons salt

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, diced

1 teaspoon cracked pepper

¼ teaspoon red chile flakes

1 tablespoon minced rosemary

2 tablespoons minced oregano

2 bay leaves

8 cups chicken or vegetable stock

zest of ½ lemon

juice of 2 lemons

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 teaspoons minced rosemary

cracked pepper to taste

Method:

Rinse lentils thoroughly in a colander under cold running water until the water runs clear. Set aside to drain.

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat and sauté onions with 1 teaspoon salt until translucent. Add garlic, carrot, pepper, chiles, herbs, bay leaves and remaining salt. Stir well and sauté until the carrots are just tender.

Add the lentils and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart. If you like, the soup can be puréed or left as it is. If you choose to purée, remove the bay leaves first.

Season the soup with lemon zest, lemon juice and more salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, stir together the feta cheese, rosemary and pepper. Sprinkle over the hot bowls of soup and sigh with delight!

Cries of "More Please!" will be emanating from your kitchen!

Cries of “More Please!” will be emanating from your kitchen!

 

68 Responses to “Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon, Rosemary and Feta Cheese”

  2. chefjulianna

    Seriously, Andrea? You really have to try lentils! They are so easy to cook; really versatile and incredibly healthy. Really hope you try them soon! 😀

    Reply
  4. Selma's Table

    Oh wow Julianna – I had to come over and see what this was about – it sounds wonderful! Lucky you to have friends giving you their harvests – enjoy!! Happy Fiesta Friday to you!

    Reply
  5. Elaine @ foodbod

    Oh wow, all that fresh produce, you are so lucky!!! The soup looks amazing, so many wonderful ingredients in one bowl 🙂 thank you for bringing it to this weeks party xxx

    Reply
  6. simplyvegetarian777

    This is just my kinda bowl there chef! I love my red lentils and add those as base in various soups like zucchini and tomato for added richness. I am so making these. Rosemary is my favorite fall herb along with thyme. Made some pan grilled potatoes with rosemary and garlic yesterday for the kids to snack on. That Herb just bursts with the best :$.

    Reply
    • chefjulianna

      Mmm! I love my rosemary too! I had a bunch drying in the sun the other day and I was sitting beside the pan reading a book! Wow, the fragrance was just incredible. I could have sat there all day!

      Reply
  8. Nancy

    Oh, Julianna…this soup would be perfect to cure the September chills. Delicious flavors…love the red lentils!

    Reply
  10. Geraldine

    I WILL make this Julianna, sounds like my kind of soup (but aren’t they all!!!) 😉 What a big bowl of yummy this is, thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  12. Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake

    I wonder if I could make this in the crockpot?? I’m very lazy and like to use my crockpot where possible haha! It sounds super yummy though, I love lentils and all those fresh herbs with the feta sounds divine. I would have to go out and buy fresh herbs though as I have the opposite of green fingers, can’t even keep basil alive!

    Reply
  13. Hilda

    Thanks for the reminder to use all our fresh herbs while we have them and offer such a delicious way to use them. We had our first light frost last night and have already lost our basil (except the pot I have in the greenhouse) but the others are still OK.

    Reply
  14. Loretta

    This soup looks so comforting and gorgeous – I’m bookmarking this for sure when the cooler weather gets here. Thanks Chef! 🙂

    Reply
    • chefjulianna

      Hey Caran! So nice to meet someone else who has this cookbook! I absolutely adore this book and cook from it really often! So glad you like the photos! Since there are no photos in the cookbook, I always love to imagine how I would present the food. 🙂

      Reply
  18. cookingwithauntjuju.com

    I make a good lentil soup but yours is very different and just sounds delicious. I am enjoying my herb garden as much as I can – only a month or maybe two for some herbs before a hard frost hits them 🙂

    Reply
  21. petra08

    I love the amount of fresh herbs with the soft lentils and then the feta cheese! It sounds like a wonderful soup. A great way to really appreciate what is in season. It sounds healthy (am a bit of a health kick at the moment) and great to tuck in to! Recipe saved, as always! 🙂

    Reply
  24. Lori

    This sounds so wonderful! And I love that it is full of fresh ingredients! Definitely saving your recipe Julianna, because I want to try it! 🙂 Happy FF! Appreciate you!

    Reply
  28. spiceinthecity

    Oh wow, Julianna, a big bowlful of this goodness to warm me up please!! Great that you have access to such wonderful herbs, I should start a herb garden next year, even if it is just to make this awesome soup! Yum!

    Reply
  33. Nicky Corbishley

    Great flavour combinations Julianna. I love lentil soup, but tend not to venture far from lentil and veg or lentil and tomato. I’ll be giving this a try 🙂

    Reply
  34. LaVagabonde

    Sounds fantastic. I’ve been looking for a new red lentil soup recipe lately (getting bored with dal) and I’m definitely going to try this one.

    Reply

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