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French Onion Green Lentil Soup - CaliZona

6 - 8 Servings

Ingredients

  • Caramelized Onions - recipe below
  • 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil for fennel stalks  + 1/4 Cup (for the caramelized onions)
  • 1 1/2 Cup French Green Lentils
  • 8 Cups Filtered Water
  • 2 Sprigs + 2 Tablespoons Fresh Thyme
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1 Fennel Bulb - cut in half - cored - cut halves in half and thinly slice
  • 1 Cup Fennel Stalks - thinly sliced
  • 2 Cloves Garlic - minced
  • 3 Vegetable Bouillon Cube - salt-free
  • 2 Tablespoons Dry White Wine I used Sauvignon Blanc
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Tarragon Leaves - minced
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice - fresh squeezed
  • 1 Tablespoon Sherry Vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt or to taste
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Caramelized Onions

  • 4 Yellow or White Onions - cut in half and thinly sliced into half circles
  • 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/4 Cup Dry White Wine I used Sauvignon Blanc
  • Sea Salt to taste

Garnish

  • French Bread
  • Gruyere Cheese
  • Fennel Frond

Instructions

Onions

  1. Start by caramelizing the onions. (I often do this the day before)
  2. Add the sliced onions to a large straight side pan.
  3. Sweat the onions on medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  This will remove the water and form a golden crust on the pan called fond.  You will want to use a wooden spoon to scrape the pan with.
  4. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil, de-glaze by scraping the pan and stir to combine the golden fond.  Turn heat to medium-low for 20 more minutes and stir a couple of times but not too much, you want the fond to occur, this gives it its golden color and flavor.
  5. Add 1 tablespoon of wine an
  6. de-glaze then cook for 10 minutes, stir and scrape the fond a few times.
  7. Add 2 more tablespoons of wine, de-glaze and let cook for 10 more minutes, stir and scrape the fond a few times.
  8. Add 1 more tablespoon of wine, de-glaze and turn off the heat.  They should be dark golden in color.  If they aren't, cook a bit longer and de-glaze again with a tablespoon of water.  Lightly sprinkle with salt.

Lentils

  1. In a large pot, combine the lentils, water, 2 sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf.
  2. Bring to a boil then turn to medium-low for 15 - 20 minutes (use a timer) until lentils are soft but slightly firm.
  3. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
  4. Drain and set aside.

Fennel

  1. While the lentils are cooking, cut the stalks off the fennel bulb and cut into thin slices starting where the frond was attached to the bulb and measure out a cup.
  2. Cut the fennel bulb in half and cut out the core then cut the halves in half.  Thinly slice.
  3. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven,  add 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-low heat add the fennel, fennel stalks and garlic then saute until the garlic starts to turn golden.
  4. Add the tarragon, 2 tablespoons of thyme and bullion cubes to the fennel mix and 1 tablespoon of wine.
  5. Mash the bouillon and stir everything together.
  6. Stir until they start to get sticky and turn golden then add the remaining tablespoon of wine, de-glaze and cook for a couple of minutes.
  7. Add the lentils and onions to the fennel.

Soup

  1. Lastly, add the lemon juice, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper and cook until it is hot and all the flavors combine.

Recipe Notes

Options Vegan* It's ready to eat. Vegetarian * Add some soup in an oven-safe bowl and top with toasted french bread and grated Gruyere cheese.  Put it under the broiler until it turns golden and bubbly on top. Gluten-free * Eat it as is or add some grated Gruyere cheese on top and let it melt or put under the broiler until it turns golden and bubbly on top.