Description
A comforting and nutritious soup made with ground beef, lentils, and various vegetables.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 tsp. olive oil (or more, depending on your pan)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 T minced garlic or garlic puree (or less if you don’t like garlic as much as I do)
- 1 T dried parsley
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water, plus more as needed
- 2/3 cup brown lentils
- 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup brown rice
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 2 T balsamic vinegar (optional)
Instructions
- Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a heavy frying pan, add ground beef and cook until meat is well browned, using a turner to break up into small pieces.
- Remove meat to a heavy soup pot.
- Add another tsp. of olive oil to the frying pan and add onions and celery and cook for 3-5 minutes, until vegetables are starting to soften.
- Add garlic, dried thyme, ground cumin, and dried parsley and sauté for 1-2 minutes more.
- Add vegetables to the soup pot with meat, and rinse out frying pan with the 2 cups of water and add to the soup pot.
- Add beef stock, chicken stock, lentils, and chopped carrots to the pot and cook at a very low simmer for about 60 minutes, or until lentils are quite soft.
- Taste soup and decide whether to add a small amount of water. (There should be quite a bit of liquid, and the broth should be flavorful but not too strong tasting. If there isn’t very much liquid or broth seems too strong, add more water at this point.)
- Add brown rice and continue to simmer soup for 30-40 more minutes, or until rice is done but still a bit chewy.
- Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
- Stir in balsamic vinegar if desired. Serve hot.
Notes
- This soup can be adjusted with more liquid if desired to achieve your preferred consistency.
- Serve with crusty bread for a hearty meal.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Category: Soups
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 10g
- Protein: 20g
- Cholesterol: 70mg