Romanian Lentil Soup

One thing I love about living in Los Angeles is the diversity of cultures you come across.  

One of my dear friends is a Romanian woman.  A social butterfly who has a big, big heart.  A passion of hers is cooking, not just any dishes but...Romanian dishes.  

Recently, she's been sharing quite a few of her recipes and her secrets to cooking Romanian style.  Quite different from LA cooking, using international ingredients found in local ethnic food markets.  

The other day she brought me some Romanian Lentil Soup to try.  WOW!  Such flavor.  I would say it was one of the best soups I've had.  She prefers pink lentils over the brown ones, as they are more tender when cooked.  You can easily pick up a bag a Trader Joe's.  The rest of the vegetables are standard.  The only unusual item is the Vegeta, which is a powdered bullion flavor which can only be found in ethnic stores.  So as a substitute you could use chicken bullion cubes and everything will be fine.

Simple to make, and soooo delishhh!  I hope you try this dish.  It's wonderful to experience the flavors of another country in your own home.   


Romanian Lentil Soup


3 onions
2 big carrots, peeled
6 rib of celery
1 container of cherry tomatoes
2 red bell peppers
2 parsnip
1 T olive oil
1 bag of pink lentils (Trader Joe's)
3-4 cups water
1 T Vegeta or 2 cubes of chicken bullion
1 t paprika
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 t fresh thyme

Chop with the food processor the first six ingredients until finely diced but not pureed. 

Saute all the vegetables with olive oil in a dutch oven for 15 minutes then add the lentils and add water as needed.  

Make sure to add enough water to create a nice broth. Add chicken bullion, paprika and some crushed pepper for flavor.  Let the soup come to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add thyme and stir.  Serve.