Zuppa di Lenticchie

I have long counted on lentil soup---specifically, my mother's lentil soup---to get me through cold nights and bad days. It was a childhood favorite, and I still make it often.

I’ve made many variations over the years, adding diced potato or turnip (sometimes both), cut-up sausage or a smoked pork chop, tomatoes, and various greens---spinach, Swiss chard, or Tuscan kale, a hearty green with long, slim, dark blue-green crimped leaves. But the basic recipe, published in my first cookbook, is still my mom’s.

For the lentils, look for tiny ones from Abruzzo or Umbria, such as these from Marcelli Formaggi, these from Olio2Go or these from Gustiamo.

ZUPPA DI LENTICCHIE | LENTIL SOUP
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 large cloves garlic, lightly crushed
2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 small fennel bulb, finely diced (optional)
1 rib celery, finely diced
1 fresh or dried peperoncino, or a generous pinch of crushed red pepper
1 medium yellow potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 sprigs thyme
1 fresh bay leaf
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups brown lentils, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 cups water
Black Pepper Croutons (see NOTE below)

Instructions
1. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, carrots, onion, fennel, celery, and peperoncino and sauté for 7 minutes, or until the onion is softened and pale gold and the carrots are bright orange.

2. Add the potato, turnip, thyme, and bay leaf. Season with the salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Cook about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes and turnips have begun to soften; then stir in the lentils.

3. Pour in the broth and water and raise the heat to medium-high. Bring the soup to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover partially. Simmer gently, stirring from time to time, for 45 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs (you can look for pieces of garlic to discard, too, but I find by this point most of it has melted into the soup). Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt if you like.

4. Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle each serving with your best olive oil and top with a handful of croutons.

NOTE: To make Black Pepper Croutons, spread 4 cups of cubed Italian country bread on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over them. Toss well with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula. Sprinkle with salt and a liberal amount of freshly ground black pepper. Toss again, and spread into a single layer. Bake at 400° F, stirring once or twice during baking, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until evenly browned and crisped.