Description
A delicious and hearty soup packed with ground beef, lentils, and a variety of 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
- 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. olive oil to frying pan and add onions and celery, then cook for 3-5 minutes, until vegetables are starting to soften.
- Add garlic, dried thyme, ground cumin, and dried parsley; 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, then 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 much liquid or if 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 for thickness by adding more or less water as necessary.
- Feel free to customize vegetables based on your preference.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 10g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 70mg