Lentil and Potato Soup is a grandma’s recipe — more than a soup, it’s a creamy lentil and potato stew with carrots, to be served with plenty of flavored bread croutons, made with the dense bread I often prepare. This creamy potato and lentil soup recipe is vegetarian and vegan, suitable for everyone — easy, nourishing and hearty, much like the bean and potato soup or the chickpea recipes. Mediterranean cuisine offers many tasty vegan dishes and we often don’t even notice: examples range from Sicilian eggplant caponata to the more traditional pasta and chickpea soup, and even the simplest form of pizza, the Margherita pizza, not to mention the many homemade bread recipes. Today, to continue our journey through Mediterranean vegetarian recipes, we’ll prepare a lentil and potato stew, my grandmother’s quick and simple recipe, made with a good vegetable broth. It’s perfect as a healthy, fiber-rich and very nourishing one-dish meal. Ready to go to the kitchen? Let’s discover how to make grandma’s lentil soup with potatoes, carrots, celery and onions. Before we start, if you want to stay updated you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).

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Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very inexpensive
Preparation time: 15 Minutes
Portions: 5
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients for making lentil and potato soup

1 1/2 cups red lentils (or any variety you prefer)
1 medium onion
1/2 cup carrots (finely chopped)
1/2 cup celery (finely chopped)
5 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 lb potatoes
to taste extra virgin olive oil
to taste black pepper
as needed stale bread

Tools

Pot
Stovetop

Preparation

If possible for this recipe, use a cast-iron or earthenware pot, or alternatively a good heavy-bottomed pot that will retain heat even when the burner is turned off.

Peel and rinse the carrots, onion and celery, then finely chop everything. Gather the chopped vegetables in a pot and add a generous drizzle of oil. Let them soften over low heat and
add the rinsed and well-drained lentils. Let them briefly absorb the flavors and
pour in the boiling broth, cook for about 20 minutes, then add the potatoes. Add more boiling broth if necessary and
continue cooking for another twenty minutes. Turn off the stovetop and, keeping the lid on the pot, prepare the croutons.
If possible, use stale bread a few days old and cut it into cubes; the quantity is indicative.
Place the cubes in the air fryer basket and spritz with a little oil, add a light sprinkle of salt and your choice of dried herbs and spices.
If you have a pre-salted roast spice mix, you can use that instead of separate spices and salt. Cook at 356°F for 6-7 minutes, turning occasionally. If you bake them in the oven, increase the cooking time until golden. Serve the soup with the croutons or with good country bread, a drizzle of oil and black pepper.