Greek Lentil Soup
Brown lentils simmered with onion, carrot, garlic and bay, finished with red wine vinegar and olive oil.
Photograph credit: Fakes soupa by Dianeira · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Don't Make These Mistakes
Keep the simmer gentle so the lentils hold their shape.
Add the vinegar at the end and taste before adding more.
Rinse the lentils and check them for small stones.
If the soup is too thick, loosen it with hot water.
Cooking Greek Lentil Soup
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and carrots for 5 minutes. Add the garlic for 1 minute.
-
Stir in the lentils, tomato paste, bay and water and bring to the boil.
-
Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are tender.
-
Remove the bay. Stir in the salt, vinegar and the rest of the oil, and serve.
Why It Works
Lentil soup belongs to the cold months, when a pot on the hob heats the kitchen and costs almost nothing. This Greek version, called fakes, is plain on purpose.
Brown or green lentils hold their shape better than red ones, so the soup stays brothy rather than turning to purée. Rinse them, then pick out any stones. Add the vinegar at the end, off the heat. It brightens the whole pot, but boiling takes the sharpness out.
The tomato paste adds depth, and a bay leaf gives the broth a quiet savoury note. Keep the simmer gentle. A hard boil splits the lentil skins and clouds the broth.
A generous trickle of olive oil on each bowl is traditional. Serve it hot with bread. Taste it once it has rested for 10 minutes off the heat. Lentil soup settles and deepens as it stands, so the vinegar and salt often need a final adjustment.
Storage and Reheating
Keeps in the fridge for 4 days. Freezes well for up to 3 months. It thickens as it stands, so add water when reheating.
Changing the Recipe
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
Good With
- Crusty bread
- Olives
- Feta
- Sliced onion
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More Greek cooking and dinner ideas from Weekly Delight.
Orzo Soup
Orzo simmered in a lemony chicken broth with carrots, celery, courgette and dill, ready in 35 minutes.
Revithia
Chickpeas baked slowly in a clay pot with onion, olive oil, lemon and bay, a Greek island dish ready in 45 minutes.
Bamies
Okra stewed in a tomato and onion sauce with garlic and olive oil for 35 minutes, a Greek summer dish.
Fasolakia
Greek green beans braised slowly in olive oil with tomatoes, onion and potatoes until soft and sweet.
Cod with Tomatoes and Olives
Cod simmered in a thick tomato sauce with onion, garlic, oregano and Kalamata olives. Four servings in 30 minutes.
Stifado
Greek beef stew slowly simmered with as many small onions as there is meat, red wine, tomato and vinegar, and…