Fakes – Ancient Greek Lentil Soup Recipe

Greek Lentil Soup

An Old Fashioned Lentil Soup Recipe

This Lentil soup recipe goes way back in time. Even thousands of years ago, Greeks used to include a lot of legumes in their diet. In fact, they were a staple to their everyday table. Since they were (and still are) easy to store without spoiling. And the preferred way of eating them was cooked into a soup along with olive oil, garlic and onions all favored for their health benefits.

This humble and simple Lentil soup served along with a piece of bread and a glass of red wine is what the Ancient Greek diet is all about. Olive oil, wine, and wheat was the Ancient Greeks holly trinity!

Vegan Greek Lentil Soup

This nutritious soup has an amazing earthy flavor. It’s simply cooked along with onions, garlic, olive oil, and bay leaves. When we serve this soup in Greece we always add a few drops of vinegar to it. It adds a nice hint of acidity to it.

We also like to serve it along with olives, or salt-cured sardines or anchovies (another Ancient Greeks favorite).

Authentic Greek Lentil Soup

A Healthy & Nutritious Soup

This Ancient Greek lentil soup is really one of the best and most nutritious foods to include in your weekly meal plan. Lentils are a great source of iron and dietary fiber. They’re also a budget-friendly meal to feed a whole family. And if it is a good variety of lentils they’ll also get cooked quick enough without having to use a pressure cooker.

And like most Greek soups this soup gets nice and thick by simmering and stirring with plenty of olive oil. Real extra virgin olive oil can thicken a soup. That is if it’s not of a bad quality that’s mixed with water or other oils. Check my post about olive oil to see how to check if your olive oil is real.

Old Fashioned Greek Lentil Soup Recipe

Greek Lentil Soup Recipe

This Greek Lentil Soup Recipe is what the Ancient Greek diet is all about. Simple, nutritious and with a delicious earthy flavor this soup is going to amaze you!

5 from 3 votes

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Keyword: Dinner, gut-healing foods, lunch, superfood

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 2 minutes

Servings: 4 portions

Calories: 268kcal

Ingredients

• 1 and a half cup of medium sized brown lentils
• 1 small onion minced
• 2 large garlic cloves chopped
• 1 large bay leave dried
• 40 ml olive oil
• few drops of red wine vinegar

Instructions

• In a medium sized cooking pot add about 1 liter of hot water and bring to a boil. Add the lentils and let them boil for 5 minutes.
  
• Using your cooking's pot lid, leave about 1 inch of space to drain the water from the pot. You could also use a strainer, if you own one that has very tiny holes. (We don't want the lentils to fall out)
  
• Refill the cooking pot with water (about 3 fingers higher than the lentils) bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and and add the minced onion, the chopped garlic cloves and the dried bay leave.
  
• Season with salt and pepper and let simmer for about 45minutes to 1 hour. (The time really depends on the variety of the lentils) Try a few to check if they are ready.
• Once the lentils are cooked and the water reduced by ⅔, add the olive oil. At this point you have to stir constantly, because the oil will start to thicken the soup.
  
• Keep stirring for about 10 minutes. By now you should have a nice pretty thick soup.
  
• Serve with a few drops of red vinegar in each portion.

Notes

-Cook the lentils very well since they are meant for a soup, not a salad dish.

-A proper Olive Oil that's rich and silky, gives to any type of soup a creamy texture. That's all we really use as a thickening agent in our Greek soups. And that's all it needs to make this soup so thick and velvety also. If you can't find some authentic olive oil, then these are two Greek ones that are really good:

• Terra Creta | Single Origin | 100% Pure Greek Traceable Olive Oil | Cold Extracted | World's Finest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2017 GOLD Medal Winner PJ KABOS 16.9Floz Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil | 100% FRESH olive oil born in Ancient Olympia vicinity | Greece | KORONEIKI Variety 

Disclaimer: Please note that If you make a purchase through any of these links above, it will earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting RealGreekRecipes.com!

Nutrition

Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 490mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 2g

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