Abruzzo lentil soup

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 250 g Lentils, fine, preferably Lenticchie di Castelluccio or Santo Stefano
• 1 pack of soup vegetables
• 3 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• 1 bay leaf, dried
• 1 liter of water
• 1 tsp, sautéed chili pepper
• Thyme
• 500 g eggplant(s)
• 500 ml tomatoes, pureed
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Salt
• some Pecorino, grated
• possibly pasta or toasted bread as a filling

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Abruzzese lentil soup

In our experience, it is not necessary to soak the small lentils beforehand. Clean and finely chop the garlic and the soup vegetables and briefly sauté everything together in olive oil in a large pot. Add the lentils and sauté briefly, then pour in the water and bring to a boil. Season the broth with the bay leaf, chili pepper, and thyme. Skim off any foam that forms during cooking with a slotted spoon. Cut the eggplant into approx. 1 cm cubes and cook in olive oil in a separate pan over medium heat until translucent, then add salt. After a good 30 minutes, the lentils should be cooked through. Only now add salt to the soup, add the balsamic vinegar, the passata, and the eggplant cubes, and let everything simmer for another 5-10 minutes over low heat. Season to taste with more chili pepper, if desired. Serve with some grated pecorino. Tip: The soup can be eaten as is or topped with additional filling toppings. There are two traditional options: white bread cubes toasted in olive oil or pasta. If you want to do it the right way, use pasta alla chitarra, or square-shaped spaghetti or macaroni from Abruzzo. However, if geometry isn’t so important to you, round pasta will probably taste just as good. Regardless of the shape, however, it should be cooked in a separate pot rather than in the soup.