ITALIAN RED LENTIL SOUP

What I love the most about this Italian Red Lentil Soup  is just how easy it is! In addition, it is very delicious, comforting &  flavorful.We’ve all tasted bland soups and wished for something a bit more substantial. This is most definitely not one of those soups. This red lentil soup is packed to the brim with flavor and variety, and it can stand alone as a delectable dinner. The secret? Butter, as usual. Let’s talk about a few tips and tricks to make our red lentil soup as delicious as it is intended to be.

1. Make sure you’re using real butter, and make sure it’s the salted variety. No margarine or butter spread will make the red lentil soup taste as delicious as real, farm style butter will.
2. Yellow onions are great in soups because their firmness allows them to keep their structure in liquids. They also have a fresh, complex taste which adds to the flavor pallet of red lentil soup.
3. The red lentil soup recipe calls for vegetables that have been chopped finely. I encourage you to take this instruction seriously and chop each vegetable as finely as possible without shredding them. Here are some useful tricks for slicing vegetables for red lentil soup like a pro:
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• Be picky about the surface you choose to cut on. This protects the knife from losing its sharpness and it helps you to chop faster and more efficiently. First choice is thick plastic, second is thin plastic boards and third is wood.
• Use the correct knives for the job. You are not going to get tiny, elegant chopped vegetables for red lentil soup if you opt for a bread knife. I recommend Victorinox paring knives for chopping vegetables.
• Be sure to always cut along the length of a vegetable. For further divisions, lengthwise is sometimes necessary, but lengthwise comes first.
• To keep your knives in good shape, don’t store them with the rest of the cutlery, but rather tuck them safely into a knife block.

4. Choose pancetta for a crispy, strong flavor that contrasts beautifully with the red lentil soup. Opt for prosciutto if you’re up for something softer that matches the soup’s texture, but adds in a delicious, salty kick. Choose country ham for a more traditional take on the red lentil soup, with a comforting feel and a full flavor.

4. Make your own meat broth. It’s actually really easy and cost effective, plus its delicious in red lentil soup. Here’s how:

• Gather a combination of the toughest sections of beef. Chuck meat, flank, round beef or shank are perfect alone or in combination with one another. Many recipes recommend you add in a portion of chicken as well.
• Add in a selection of herbs, vegetables and condiments, choosing from cloves, sea salt, black pepper, white pepper, parsley, cilantro, celery, carrots, leeks and onions.
• Allow the mixture to simmer for a good few hours, and then filter it through a colander so that only the liquid remains.

These simple tricks make for delicious red lentil soup! Create and enjoy.

RED LENTIL SOUP RECIPE

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Enjoy this delicious Red lentil soup!