Chilean Lentil Soup – Vegan

A few months ago, in my first post about “leftovers transformation game” I tell you about to transform a lentil soup into a vegan burger, but I never tell about how I make that lentil soup. I’m sorry, my bad.

So here I am today, posting a new recipe about our classic of all times, a Chilean lentil soup. I used to have this meal at lunch weekly at my Grandmother’s house. Every Monday was a lentil soup day. In Chile we have 4 meals a day, and lunch is the most important for us: 1 salad as an entree, 1 main dish and a sort of dessert.

This soup is similar to a chili, made from cooked lentils, sauteed vegetables and ground meat, but this have additionally a little bit of bread as thickener, which makes it very delicious and comfy.

Here is the recipe:

Chilean Lentil Soup )

Servings: 4 people
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Ingredients:

1 Cup green or brown lentils

1/2 Cup Onion in cubes

2 Garlic cloves

1 Shredded carrot

1/2 Green or red bell pepper

3 to 4 dried mushrooms, re-hydrated in a 1/4 cup of water.

1/2 TPV or any ground non-beef of your choice

1 Bun

1 Cup vegetable stock

1 Tsp oregano

1/4 Tsp black pepper

“Vegan Parm” to sprinkle

A seitan sausage to top

Making our soup:

Clean and rinse lentils, make sure that there is no broken lentil or dirt. Soak them in 2 cups of water for about 10 minutes.
Drain the lentils and cook then in 2.5 cups of water at medium high heat for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until they gets tender but not over cooked.
While the lentils are cooking, re hydrate mushrooms in water and the TVP with one cup of vegetable stock.
In a skillet saute the garlic, carrot, bell pepper and onions until it gets translucent, then add the TVP and chopped mushrooms. Keep sauteing for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add oregano, Black pepper, and salt to taste. Stir and remove from the heat.
With the help of a fork, make a paste with the bread and about 1 cup of water where the lentils cook. Set aside.
Pour your sauteed vegetables into the lentils pot, and bring it to a boil. Once is boiling add the bread paste, stir and it simmer for about 5 minutes. Now your Lentils are ready to serve.

Traditionally we server this soup along with a piece of “longaniza” which is a Chilean sausage, and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Both can be made vegan! so you can use this recipe to make a delicious seitan chorizo sausage, and a classic Parmesan vegan cheese on top. You’ll gonna love it!

This lentil soup is a excellent option for a dinner in a cold day, is very easy and fast to make, taste like heavens and it feels very light, since lentils are easier to digest than beans. The additions that vegan Parmesan cheese and seitan makes to this soup are huge! If you make this I bet that you’ll have seconds.