Greek Lentil Soup

Although my specialty is Indian cuisine, I very much enjoy experimenting with various ethnic dishes. When I came across Peter's recipe for Greek Lentil soup, I realized that I have only posted one Greek dish to Lisa's kitchen, which is odd, as I enjoy Greek food. Peter's soup looked and sounded so good I decided to make my own version that is closely based on his. Serve with crusty bread and a grain for a complete vegetarian meal.

Greek Lentil Soup

2 cups of brown lentils, well rinsed
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed + 2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large carrot cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
3 bay leaves
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of paprika
8 cups of water or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of dried oregano
sea salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. When hot, toss in the onions and saute for a few minutes. Next add the crushed garlic and stir and fry for about a minute. Now add the chopped vegetables, paprika, tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves and water or stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to moderately low, cover and simmer for an hour or until the lentils are soft.

When the soup is finished, add the minced garlic, oregano and sea salt.