Slow Cooker Vegetable Red Lentil Soup

Slow cooker vegetable red lentil soup is what you make when your veggie bin in the fridge is fuller than it needs to be. That was the case with my bin this morning. I had some veg that needed to be used before it had to go to the compost bin. Not that it was rotten, but you know what I mean. I hope.

Anyway, I have not made a veggie soup in ages, so I thought today why not? I got a late start of it and did not get it into the slow cooker until after lunch. I was a bit worried since my red lentils (or dal) have lost some of their color. That doesn’t mean they are bad, but just old and may take longer to cook. Simple ingredients for this soup and I used what I had on hand: onions, celery, potatoes, zucchini, canned tomatoes, fresh thyme, bay leaves, cabbage, and vegetable broth.  Vegetable soups are so versatile that they can be a big of a dump meal with what’s on hand. I sautéed the onion and celery first in olive oil until softened giving it a little extra flavor.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Red Lentil Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 2-3 celery stalks diced
• 3-4 carrots diced
• 1 large zucchini sliced and quartered
• 2-3 potatoes peeled and diced small
• 3/4 cup red lentils
• 1 14.4 oz. petite diced tomatoes
• 1-2 pieces Parmesan cheese rind
• 2 bay leaves
• 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Generous grinds of the pepper mill
• 1 small thinly sliced savoy cabbage
• Fresh Italian parsley chopped finely
• Olive oil to drizzle
• Parmesan cheese

Preparation

• Heat oil over medium heat in pan. Sautée onion and celery until soft. (If you are in a rush then by-pass this step)
• Place onion, celery, carrots, zucchini, potatoes, Parmesan rind, tomatoes, lentils, thyme, salt, pepper, and broth in the slow cooker.
• Set slow cooker to high for 6 hours.
• Add the cabbage with about 2 hours left.
• Remove thyme stalks and bay leaves.
• Drizzle olive oil, sprinkle with parsley and cheese.

Serves 6-8