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- Makes 8 cups
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French lentils are smaller than traditional brown lentils and hold their “bite” after being simmered in the savory broth of this veggie-packed stew. Parsnips, carrots, and celery join forces to form a tasty base that invites in all the best fall produce. Umami-rich mushrooms are sauteéd with juicy tomatoes and briney capers before being added to the pot and infusing everything with finger-licking-good flavor. Garnish each serving with fresh parsley and serve with whole grain crispbread crackers for dunking!
Fore more lentil recipes, check out these tasty ideas:
- Lentil Burger Lettuce Wraps
- Harvest Vegetable Casserole with Lentils and Gravy
- Vegan Stuffed Peppers with Lentils and Herbed Rice
- Or take a look at our full roundup of lentil recipes.
By Shelli McConnell,
Ingredients
- ½ cup chopped shallots
- ½ cup sliced celery
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 medium parsnips, narrow ends halved lengthwise and sliced, wide ends quartered lengthwise and sliced (2⅓ cups)
- 2 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced (1 cup)
- 1 cup dry French green lentils or black beluga lentils
- 1 tablespoon dried herbs de Provence, crushed
- 8 oz. fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced (3 cups)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 14.5-oz. can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon no-salt-added tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large saucepan cook shallots and celery over medium 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally and adding water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed to prevent sticking. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute. Add broth, parsnips, carrots, lentils, and herbs de Provence. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are tender.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook mushrooms in vinegar over medium high 8 minutes or until all liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are browned and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir mushrooms, undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, and capers into pan; cook until heated through. Season with salt.
- Top servings with freshly cracked black pepper and chopped fresh parsley.
Comments (6)
(5 from 4 votes)Thick, hearty and tasty. First time cooking with parsnips. Nice alternative to white potatoes. Subbed balsamic wine vinegar for the red wine vinegar – a plus Subbed Italian seasonings for herbs de Provence as no lavender in it Didn’t have tomato paste available The capers I had were too old. Next time fresher.
Fabulous recipe! Love braising those veggies rather than sautéeing in oil. The herbes de Provence adds wonderful flavor - I did not feel need to salt this stew at all. A keeper for sure!
SO SO SO SOOOO GOOD! I wanted to let readers know that this one's a real winner. Thank you!
Like Leslie wrote, my husband and I both agreed that this is the best soup we've had- certainly the best lentil soup (which is saying something since we're both lentil soup fans!). We're living somewhere where parsnips are hard to come by and red wine vinegar is not on offer, so we substituted a sweet potato and I cooked the mushrooms in balsamic vinegar. I always double the garlic in these recipes, too. But otherwise, I made it exactly as is and will definitely make it again soon.
I rarely post reviews but this recipe is 5 stars! My husband said it’s the best soup he’s ever had. I followed the recipe with the following modifications: Didn’t have herbs de Provence so looked up the recipe online. Used rosemary, thyme, marjoram, basil, oregano, and tarragon. Didn’t have fennel, savory, or bay powder. Had bay leaf so put one in. Added 1-2 teaspoons of Better than Bouillon Sauteed Onion soup base instead of salt. Probably was a bit more liberal with the other spices, but I don’t really “measure”. Served it with lemon slices and a dollop of Tofutti vegan sour cream. Excellent!
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