Versatile Recipes on a Budget: Lentil Soup

Some of the best recipes a home cook on a budget can have in one's repertoire are simple, basic recipes with a solid base of flavor.  By this, I mean recipes with a few inexpensive ingredients that taste great as-is, but that you can easily modify with add-ons to create multiple great-tasting meals.  Recipes like this can help you save money by utilizing leftover ingredients from other meals.  Soups and stews are especially adaptable.  For this reason, it's good to keep some gluten-free vegetable bouillon on-hand for those days when you have some leftover veggies and, optionally, some rice or pasta or beans - you have all the makings of a nearly-instant vegetable soup that didn't cost you an extra trip to the store!  In addition to vegetable broth-based soups, tomato-based soups and stews also offer a lot of flexibility.

I love taking versatile recipes like this and running with them, adding whatever I have in the refrigerator that I think might go well with the other flavors, and tossing in a variety of spices that changes every time I make the dish.  One of my favorites to play with is my lentil soup recipe - my husband says I'm like a mad scientist when I'm putting it together!  Lentils are a great vegetarian source of protein, iron and fiber, and even organic lentils don't cost very much.  The other ingredients in the basic form of this recipe - tomato paste, onion, garlic, vegetable bouillon and cumin - are also relatively easy on the budget, while still offering a lot of nutrition.  This delicious soup is entirely vegan and dairy-free if you leave off the optional cheese garnish.

The Recipe
Time: 10 mins prep, 30 mins cooking time
Yield: 4-5 servings
Use organic ingredients whenever possible!

Basic recipe:

• ½ cup lentils
• 1 6 oz. can tomato paste (also works great with just ½ 6 oz. can)
• ⅓ medium yellow or white onion, chopped
• 6 cups water
• 1 gluten-free vegetable bouillon cube
• ½ tsp salt if using low-sodium bouillon
• 1 tsp garlic granules or powder; or 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tsp cumin
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Optional add-ons (use one, some, or all of these and you still get a wonderful soup!):

• 2-3 medium carrots, or 16-20 baby-cut carrots, chopped
• ¼ to ½ green, red, orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped
• ½ cup scallions, chopped
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp ground mustard
• dash cayenne pepper, or to taste
• shredded jack or mozzarella cheese for garnish

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add onions (and carrots if using) and sauté for about 5 minutes.  About halfway through, add garlic to sauté, and bell pepper if using.
2. Add all other ingredients to the saucepan and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until lentils are soft.  Still occasionally during cooking time.
3. Serve hot (if using bay leaf, remove before serving).  Optionally, garnish with shredded jack or mozzarella cheese.

Serve this simple lentil soup with some garlic toast
and you have a winner!