Lentil Chowder Recipe

MYFOXNY.COM - Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza, owners of Upper East Side vegan restaurants Candle Cafe and Candle 79, come to the Good Day Café to prepare their Lentil Chowder.

>CANDLE CAFÉ
1307 Third Avenue
Upper East Side
212-472-0970

>CANDLE 79
154 East 79 Street
Upper East Side
212-537-7179

LENTIL CHOWDER
Serves 4-6

This Lentil Chowder is also hearty enough to be served as a stew on a bed of grains.

1 cup brown, green or red lentils, rinsed
4 cups water
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tomato, seeded and diced
1-1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Combine the lentils, water, onion, potato, squash, celery, carrot, tomato, tomato paste, thyme and pepper in a soup pot. Slowly bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 1-1/2 hours over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Add a bit more water if the soup seems to be getting too thick.

2. Taste, adjust the seasonings, and serve at once.

Note: You can also cook this soup in a slow cooker for approximately 3 hours on high heat.