Two days ago, I was having a tough afternoon. Without any thinking, I found myself walking into the kitchen, pulling out a bunch of vegetables and herbs, and filling a large metal pot with water.
Sometimes the heart knows what the mind does not.
Cooking is one of the most grounding and satisfying practices I know of. Might be because I grew up in a restaurant, but I have a feeling it’s something much deeper than that. When the world outside seems overwhelming, or you’re just feeling a little off, sometimes just putting your hands on raw ingredients and working with spice and temperature to create something nourishing can bring you into a state of much-needed connectedness.
When we’re in this mindset, we begin to see deeper meaning in the process. In this place of enlightened motion, seemingly mundane ingredients begin to reveal their subtle secrets.
At the heart of the sacred recipe below is one ingredient in particular that has quite a tale to tell.
The lentil.
Known as Lens Culinaris, the lentil is one of the oldest food sources in human history.
A vast majority of the ingredients we use today were cultivated after we humans settled down into agrarian societies and began planting and harvesting on a seasonal calendar. But there are some that were pivotal food staples of our ancestors long before that.
I’m talking about primal foods that hunters and gatherers treasured for their taste and nutrition. The everyday lentil, as plain as it might seem, is a member of that special group of ancient foods.
Evidence shows that hunter gatherers in Northern Africa and nearby regions of Asia consumed forms of wild lentils over 13,000 years ago. And guess what?
They’re LOADED with nutrition.
Dried lentils are 26% protein (one the most protein-rich legumes) and are a good source of potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, lysine, and folate. Plus, they have a ton of dietary fiber. It’s no wonder our distant forebearers turned to them as a primary source of plant sustenance.
Who needs fiction when the truth is so fascinating?
When you’re crafting the delicious soup below, keep in mind the not-so-ordinary history of each lentil that falls into the pot.
Savory Winter Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
10 Cups Of Water
5 Cups Vegetable Stock (Or Chicken Stock If You Prefer)
4 Tbsp Coconut Oil / Butter
3 Stalks Celery
1 14.5 oz can Diced Tomatoes
3 Cups French Lentils (dry)
1 Yellow Onion
1 Bunch Swiss Chard
1 Butternut Squash
3 Tbsp Curry Powder
2 Tbsp Raw Sugar
2 Bay leafs
1 sprig of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation:
– Pour 10 cups of water and 5 cups of stock into a large pot, on medium heat.
– Dice celery and onion.
– Peel butternut squash, slice in half, remove seeds and pulp, and dice.
– Chop swiss chard into small strips.
– Rinse lentils and remove any stones.
– Add celery, onions, squash, chard, diced tomatoes, and lentils to pot of heating water.
– Add curry powder, thyme, salt, pepper, bayleaf, raw sugar and coconut oil.
– Once the water begins to boil, bring the heat down to a simmer and cover the pot.
– Cook for 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
– Ready to serve!
2 little secrets to make this soup even more delicious and nutritious:
Add a half-teaspoon of coconut oil and a pinch of crushed red pepper to each bowl after it is poured.
Enjoy!
Nick Polizzi
Founder, The Sacred Science
How much celery??
3 stalks..it`s in the ingredients list ;0)
3 ribs of celery from the bunch…
Wonderful recipe, but I have some questions.
How big is a cup? ( this is a particular American measure but cup sizes vary. And can that be given in metric volume ml please).
How big is a ‘bunch’? (my hands are large so a bunch to me would be a double handful to my wife. Can you give a weight please grams or ounces).
American dry measuring cup is 8oz. which converts to 226 grams. Use this for the lentils.
American liquid cup 8 oz. converts to 236.6ml Use this for the water (10 cups = approx. 2.36L) and the stock (5 cups = approx. 1.18L).
Thank you for a wonderful recipe that I can’t wait to make and for the lovely poem by Wendell Berry. Soup is so satisfying at this time of year and we need all the comforting we can get after such an emotionally exhausting election year.
In Ayurveda raw honey, which hasn’t been heated, is full of beneficial bacteria and if you cook it, not only does it lose the goodness, it becomes toxic.
I use raw sugar or date syrup for sweetness instead.
With the arrival of cooler weather, and after neglecting lentils for a while, I’ve begun adding them to my soups, along with quinoa. The lentils impart a ‘beefy’ texture to make the soup a more substantial meal. Love lentils! And thanks for the great recipe.
What size can of tomatoes?
What a wonderful wonderful post. I really connected with this as, for me, cooking is Zen.
Here in Wisconsin our weather is taking a downturn over the weekend, so the right time to
make this. Sundays are always my day to R & R, be lazy, read and watch or listen to
my favorite PBS. What better way to do this than to have a few bowls of the soup throughout
the day.
Thank you!
Mary “Nuni” Learman
Thank-you Nick for the poem, the hearty recipe and reminding me that comfort is right here in the kitchen.
I am making this soup as I read your email. It smells wonderful and here in the Northeast soup is so satisfying on a cold, raw day. Thank you for the update!
Thank you for sharing – I can’t wait to try it. Sounds yummy
This recipe is soul food. Thanks, Nick.
Looking forward to making it on the weekend …
Hi Nick
Thank you for your great tips on healthy eating. I love lentils, and I will definitely try your recipe for winter lentil soup. Many Thanks. John
I’m 66 years old from Ecuador I’m been eating lentils all my live . Love lentils great information
Thank you, Nick, for this warming and nourishing soup recipe to warm body and soul – and thanks for the Wendell Barry poem as well! Your emails are so welcome amid all the clatter and jabber that comes to us!
In such wonderful soup with fresh ingredients, why would you use “can” tomatoes?
Why use raw honey when you’re going to heat it?
Excellent point!!! Does anyone know the answer?
Any kind of lentils? Black, red, mung dahl, grey??
This is story is remarkable and so many of us could adapt the East Indian cooking. We are eating better after adopting these recipes
Thank you for sharing the soup recipe, and the beautiful poem.
Nice recipe. But no print button. Can’t be bothered!
Thank you Nick for your wise and inspiring words. Thanks for devoting your life to preserving ancient wisdom. I have shared your post to my FB page Sustainabilitywa
Ctrl + P will make it Print!!! Most of the Q posted would be answered if you just read the recipe a second time! I do not believe honey becomes toxic when heated! Use fresh tomatoes if you don’t like cans! Simple! This recipe sounds wonderful; I’ve not seen butternut and lentils together before. I will definitely make this recipe! I loved that poem, too. May I just add that measurement conversion charts are all over the internet, if you need them.
Awesome.
Will def. try the lentil recipe.
This is the first I have heard of you.
Who are you?
I am Susan, born and raised and still live in Mexico, from US parents.
Thank you for the history of lentils.
I love lentil soup in any way possible! I would eat it every day if I could but this hurried life doesn’t often help in that. Thanks for this recipe.
Syncronicity Nick, I just finished eating a delicious bowl of lentil soup I made two days ago. Comfort food for sure.
Thanks,
I am from europe and in europe we soak lentils, millet and buckwheat in water over night. This way you cook up to five minutes no longer. Millet and buckwheat you cook up to two minutes to preserve the nutrients. I hope this might help someone.
wow – this morning I thought I would make a soup with my butternut squash, diced organic tomatoes and lentils – and her is the recipe I would have been looking for! Right at my finger tips!!
Thank you for the recipe. Is that cilantro on top? parsley?
I just made this tonight! Very easy and delicious. Thanks for the inspiration and recipe!
Why do Americans add sugar (here 2 tbsp of honey) to everything? No wonder there is a diabetes problem. Be bold, leave it out and reducate your palate. Some of these vegetables already taste quite sweet.
hey there!
i suggest letting the lentil sit in water overnight for better digestion
letzing the tomatoes out cause its not really seosonal and canned tomatoes not really healthy
snd honey should never ever be cooked!!! cheers and bon appetite
This recipe for this soup sounds very lovely I will definitely try. Thank you for sharing
Thank you for sharing, sounds lovely will definitely try valerie
Hi, Nick!
I love honey, yet I’d like to suggest you use honey while served on the plate. Honey should not be cooked or added in hot drinks or food that have over 40 Celsius degrees because it becomes very toxic. I have learned that from the beekeepers, but I also checked with other sources, inclusive those from Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. I use honey daily, but with some caution regarding the drink and food temperature and the daily intake of sugar. Your soup looks great and I bet it is delicious! Warm hugs 🙂 <3
Divine intervention it appears receiving these gifts. Thank you Nick for sharing….I always look forward to hearing from you. Blessings
Thank you Nick,
This note is just to acknowledge your contribution to my learning and let you know that I appreciate you.
Rita
According to Ayurveda when you heat honey (boiling in your soup and simmer) it becomes poisonous because your body can not digest it
I was going through a tough day when I read this email post, the recipe and poem. Without even thinking about it further, my feet had walked me to the kitchen and I’d pulled out a pot and most of the ingredients and vegan chopping. I never realized before that I could treat my own state of mind with preparing nuitritious comforting soup! Touching and ‘talking’ to the raw vegetables and putting time, Love, focus and energy into something organic and living was a revelation. Thank you Nick for your experience. I am so grateful.
Oh my gosh! This was delicious! I’ve made and loved many lentil soups, and this was one of my favorites. Thank you, Nick!
This looks delicious and I will make it next week
I wish you had a PRINT feature.
It would make taking your recipe to kitchen and store much easier.
Kind Regards
Heather
Hey, Nick. I follow you because I love your passion. I wanted to point out a couple of things about your recipe that you might not be aware of. The first is that canned tomatoes is one of the most toxic foods in the grocery store. It is on the list of foods to never consume in the classes that I teach. Also, lentils should never be consumed without being first soaked for 12-24 hours and then thoroughly rinsed. Our bodies cannot digest them properly otherwise. Thank you for all you do!
~ Stephanie Oaks, owner of No. 9 Farms (an organic, regenerative farm in TN)
To the commenters about canned tomatoes: if my can of tomatoes is labeled “bpa free” is it still unhealthy? If so, what would be the reason?
Thank you for the inspirational email and this lovely recipe!
Honey loses everything when it’s heated to more than 60 C.
What size can of tomatoes? Small or Large? Someone who has made soup, please answer.Thanks.
use powdered stevia plant which is green , NOT commercial processed stevia which is white instead of honey .
a little goes a long way ,
and
a pinch of cardamom and a pinch of Ceylon cinnamon
stevia is known to break down biofilm as per the research of Dr Sapi
I’m excited to try this recipe and I love the message of this post!
Just a note, in addition to the ones already stated about honey and canned tomatoes and soaking lentels, to those trying to be as healthy as possible:
If you have researched the latest science you’ll know that consuming too much oil, of any kind, is harmful to the body. It’s a processed food, and should be used very sparingly or better yet, not at all!
Enjoyed this. …
Newsletter?
Hi nick,
Can you resend me the grog recipe? Lost it and thunk it came from you.
Thx.
Y
Hi Everyone…..Loved this article as I can so relate as well. I’ve been a caterer in the Los Angeles area. My business was about cooking privately for people, not as a big party but more intimately. I found that this is where I could be of most benefit since I know herbs so well and food as a means of health and life really. I had been a vegetarian since my young teenage years, but somehow understood food enough that I could also cook meat for those who asked.
I was given the honor of cooking for Yogi Bhajan (Yogi Tea) when he was alive and when he would come into town and one of his favorite soups that I would make was made with Lentils. It is a very, very simple recipe but one of my most requested. It was brown rice browned in olive oil adding diced onions half way through the browning process, and then adding fresh crushed garlic maybe 3-4 cloves and letting those be stirred in the browning process for a couple of minutes. I would then add a vegetable stock that was home made of course and then my lentils. I would sometimes add finely sliced carrots or kale towards the end. I like the crunch of the carrot still being there but not too much. And then just slowly cooking for about an hour or so. Sometimes people like to add lemon so I would serve with slices of lemon. And sometimes there was someone that would add a dollop of sour cream….although I never did. It is a very hardy soup, and a complete protein. If I had time, I would include a fresh hardy bread baked that day along with some goat cheese. Add a glass of wine, some good friends old and new…..and life doesn’t get any better! Enjoy xoxox
The picture doesn’t match the recipe, which uses French Lentil and they are a greenish brown color. Also the Chard isn’t visible in the picture. I always find it a little strange when pictures don’t match recipes. I used the orange split lentils as I wanted a more colorful soup such as was pictured and doesn’t take 3 hours to prepare.
I agree that heating raw honey is not the best way to go. Why even bother with the expense of raw honey when the heat is going to destroy most of the enzymes. I used maple syrup this time around.
I also agree that measurements like ‘bunch’ aren’t very helpful. My chard comes from the garden so no idea what a bunch would be.
I’ve got a nice pot of this going on my stove and look forward to eating it.
I made a soup kind of like this one last night before reading this recipe 🙂 I did it in an Instant Pot and put on high pressure for 8 minutes and natural release 12 minutes, then manually released the rest of the steam. I used red lentils, added added carrots, parsnips, curry spice, and coconut milk. Omitted tomatoes and sugar. On the coconut milk, I add it after the soup is done and just ensure it is warmed through. I used an immersion blender to blend about half way. Really versatile type of soup 🙂
Cooking chard leaves for 3 hours will make it disintegrate. I suggest adding the leaves a few minutes before the soup is done. I’d also sauté the raw veggies in a bit of oil first, then add water/broth and other ingredients. Otherwise this sounds great!
I believe sugar would not be necessary if a couple of carrots were added.
how many carbs per 1 cup serving?
I’m going to make this soup.Im all for healing. Wish I knew loso a girl and a boy to cancer.
Nick, thank you so much for your wonderful emails, blogs, and recipes! This soup sounds delicious. You mention honey in the instructions but not in the ingredient list. Is honey used instead of raw sugar? How much should we use? Thank you again!
How many servings does this delicious sounding lentil soup make? Is it ok to freeze leftovers? I’ve learned to enjoy lentils especially because I need the extra fiber!
Thanks! María
I love lentil soup and I make it regularly. I have not tried squash in this soup and I look forward to trying it. I recently put butternut squash in my quiche recipe and it was fabulous! I was a bit surprised at the addition of a little sugar in this recipe. I bake and consume sugar, so I am not “against” it per se, but I can’t imagine the soup would need it. When my pasta sauce or soup needs (balancing) sweetening, I find the addition of carrots can do the trick.
Thanks Nick. I was going to make hassleback butternut squash but this sounds really yummy. Making it this coming week with the remainder of the butternut. It was a really big one. lol Hope it passes the test with my finicky eater. More red pepper flakes will probably do the trick.
Thank you for the recipes and information you provide. All delicious and nutritious.
Unfortunately I cannot take advantage of some of the offers of deals on products you support as I live in Canada. We are restricted from economic interaction between each other’s countries since the powers that shouldn’t be have decided its in their best interests to ‘not allow’. As long as we let them
dictate our activities this kind of curtailment will no doubt increase. Perhaps I can have items sent to a friend in US to have brought back to me later.
I love your posts, Nick. They keep me from walking to far away along the Sacred Path at times when my mind and body begin to stay. And then, here you are with tasty tidbits of simpler wisdom. And my roots grow deeper and stronger. Thank you.
Alexandra Ellen Appel
As a cancer survivor, I avoid sugar completely and feel most of the time, as in this recipe, it’s unnecessary. Cancer thrives on sugar. I was very surprised and disappointed to find sugar in your recipe.
Hi Nick. As I have an autoimmune condition I cannot consume nightshades. Can you recommend anything in place of the tomato, curry and red pepper please?
Finally made this recipe! Been saving the link for several MONTHS! Lol…. Delicious. Couple of tweaks we liked was a bit of vinegar (red wine vinegar was our choice but rice vinegar or ACV also would work, maybe even balsamic) to give it some ‘bite’. Also, next time I make it I’ll double the tomatoes to the std 28oz size. Great recipe!