Tomato, Lentil & Sage Soup
/A simple one-pot soup for the turn toward fall, with late-summer tomatoes and peppers, hearty lentils and fresh sage.
Serves 4–6
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6–8 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 cup French green or brown lentils, rinsed
4 cups chopped ripe tomatoes, with their juices
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
2 generous handfuls baby spinach or chopped kale
Juice of ½ lemon
For serving: yogurt (dairy or non-dairy), additional olive oil and crusty whole-grain bread, if desired
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and peppers and cook for 6–8 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and sage and cook for another minute, until fragrant.
Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, broth, salt and several grinds of black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently, partially covered, for 25–30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Add a little more broth or water if you’d like a brothier soup.
Stir in the spinach or kale and cook just until wilted. Finish with the lemon juice and taste for seasoning.
Spoon into bowls and finish with a dollop of dairy or coconut yogurt and a drizzle of good olive oil.
A note about the sage: Salvia officinalis is the same culinary sage that has traditionally been used for sweating and hot flashes and is now being studied in menopausal women. The amount we use in cooking isn’t equivalent to the concentrated preparations used in clinical research, but I love that this familiar kitchen herb has both a culinary and medicinal history.
