Vermont Lentil and Root Vegetable Soup
A thick, comforting soup: brown lentils, carrots, onions, and potatoes, flavored with thyme and bay leaf. A one-dish meal that suffices with a slice of bread.
A thick, comforting soup: brown lentils, carrots, onions, and potatoes, flavored with thyme and bay leaf. A one-dish meal that suffices with a slice of bread.
I never believed you needed much to eat well. Evenings in the Vermont house, I'd put the big pot on the fire and toss in what the earth had given—lentils, carrots, an onion. Cooking, you see, is women's work that was made invisible for too long; I found a peace in it, the time it simmered, to write another line. Taste before salting, always, and let the bay leaf steep long.
- •Brown lentils — two good handfuls (nourishing base)
- •Garden carrots — a few (sweetness)
- •Onion — one large (aromatic base)
- •Potatoes — two or three (body)
- •Thyme and bay leaf — one sprig, one leaf (flavor)
- •Butter or oil — one spoonful (fat)
Vermont Lentil and Root Vegetable Soup
A thick, comforting soup: brown lentils, carrots, onions, and potatoes, flavored with thyme and bay leaf. A one-dish meal that suffices with a slice of bread.
Why this dish? Settled in Montague, Vermont, Rich lived frugally, favoring local and simple food. A soup of lentils and root vegetables from the garden or farmers' market is the typical evening meal for someone who wants to eat well without excess, in cold weather, at a corner of the table covered with notebooks.
I never believed you needed much to eat well. Evenings in the Vermont house, I'd put the big pot on the fire and toss in what the earth had given—lentils, carrots, an onion. Cooking, you see, is women's work that was made invisible for too long; I found a peace in it, the time it simmered, to write another line. Taste before salting, always, and let the bay leaf steep long.
Ingredients (period version)
- Brown lentils — two good handfuls (nourishing base)
- Garden carrots — a few (sweetness)
- Onion — one large (aromatic base)
- Potatoes — two or three (body)
- Thyme and bay leaf — one sprig, one leaf (flavor)
- Butter or oil — one spoonful (fat)
Ingredients
- Brown or green lentils — 250 g (nourishing base)
- Carrots — 3 medium (sweetness)
- Onion — 1 large (aromatic base)
- Potatoes — 2 (about 300 g) (body)
- Celery stalk — 1 (aromatic base)
- Thyme and bay leaf — 1 sprig, 1 leaf (flavor)
- Vegetable broth — 1.5 L (liquid)
- Olive oil or butter — 1 tbsp (fat)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Chop the onion and celery, cut carrots and potatoes into small dice.
- Sauté the onion and celery in the fat for a few minutes without browning.
- Add the rinsed lentils, vegetables, thyme, and bay leaf.
- Pour in the broth, bring to a boil, then simmer 35-40 minutes on low heat until lentils are tender.
- Remove bay leaf, adjust salt and pepper. Serve with country bread.
How it was made : In rural New England of the 20th century, the one-pot soup simmered all day on the wood stove was the heart of the evening meal. They used storage vegetables from late season (roots, dried legumes) that could be kept all winter in the cellar.
The contemporary twist : A spoonful of plain yogurt and a few parsley leaves at serving, for freshness.
Sources : Irma S. Rombauer, The Joy of Cooking (mid-20th edition), soup section · Hilary Holladay, The Power of Adrienne Rich: A Biography, 2020 (life in Vermont)
Adrienne Rich · Charactorium