Creamy Golden French Lentil Soup

With protein-packed lentils, vegetables, and warming spices, this luxuriously creamy Golden French Lentil Soup is truly a meal in a bowl! 

Errrmygerrrrd my love for cashews just grew like tenfold.

I'm quite literally jumping for joy (more like little bunny hops) over the fact that I can start rocking my jean jacket and infinity scarf whilst making 18,765 batches of brown lentil vegetable soup. Hi and bye.

It was a happy day when Oh She Glows Every Day: Quick and Simple Satisfying Plant-based Recipes landed in my mailbox. I have a love love relationship with Oh She Glows. Love Angela, love her recipes.

I'm a big fan of her first book so I knew the second would be just as (if not more) delish. This book is special because it's really, really approachable.

It features the kind of recipes you'd make on a daily basis, like Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Chickpea Coconut Curry, and High Rise Pumpkin Cupcakes (duh). There's tons of smoothies (yasssss), simple breakfast options, meal-sized salads, and plant-powered mains. Lettuce not forget all the gorgeous photography!

This book is easy on zee eyes.

Angela was one of my biggest inspirations in the early days and still is today. It warms my heart to see my original favorite plant-based bloggers moving on to publishing badass cookbooks. I'm over here dreaming of following in there lovely footsteps someday (wink face)...

Back to this luscious recipe. I love soups because they can so easily be a meal in a bowl. Work smarter not harder! This beaut has protein-packed lentils, tons of veggies, warming anti-inflammatory spices, and cashews for healthy fats humbelievable creaminess.

It's one of those recipes that made me really look forward to eating lunch.

If you already have the book, I want to know what you've made so far! Enjoy, my lovely lentils.

Creamy Golden French Lentil Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 7 reviews

• Author: Alexis Joseph
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 55 mins
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Soup
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This luxurious, comforting Golden French Lentil Soup is truly a meal in a bowl! It's loaded with protein-packed lentils, vegetables, greens, and warming spices. Serve it as the main course with crusty whole grain bread for a healthy, filling, vegan and gluten-free meal the whole family will love.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• ½ cup raw cashews, or ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 to 1 ½ tsp fine sea salt, to taste, plus a couple pinches
• 2 medium carrots, diced (1 heaping cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (¾ cup)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 ½ tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 (14-oz) can of diced tomatoes, with juices
• ¾ cup uncooked French green lentils, picked over and rinsed (I used brown lentils)
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 3 cups stemmed and chopped Swiss chard or kale leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar, to taste (I used balsamic vinegar)

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Instructions

1. Put the cashews in a bowl and cover with a couple of inches of water. Soak for 1 to 2 hours or overnight. (For a quick-soak method, cover with boiling water and soak for 30 to 60 minutes.
2. Drain and rinse. Transfer the cashews to a high-speed blender along with ½ cup of the water. Blend on high until super smooth and creamy in texture. Set the cashew cream aside.
3. In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, and a couple pinches of salt, and sauté until the onion is softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
4. Stir in the carrots and celery, and cook for another few minutes or so. Stir in the cumin, thyme, and turmeric until combined.
5. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, lentils, broth, and remaining water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
6. Stir in the cashew cream and chard. Add salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste. (The vinegar’s role is to add a little bit of brightness to the soup; add a bit at a time and keep tasting, as it can quickly overwhelm.) Cook for a couple of minutes over low-medium heat, until the chard is wilted, and then serve.
7. This stew will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or you can freeze it for 1 to 2 months (always let it cool completely before storing). The stew will thicken after sitting in the fridge; you can thin it out with a bit of broth when you reheat it, if desired, or simply serve it thick with some crusty bread.

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Notes

Reprinted from Oh She Glows Every Day by arrangement with Avery, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2016, Glo Bakery Corporation