Lemony Lentil Soup

I was kind of tired tonight, and my sprained ankle is still bothering me, so I was looking for a lazy meal. Whenever I'm feeling lazy I turn to soup.

Soup is also a great way to empty out the crisper.

Here is what I found in the crisper (and the pantry).

1/2 leek, chopped
8 tiny yellow and orange carrots, peeled and chopped
4 really tiny russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cup chicken broth (veggie broth could be used)
2 cup water
1 cup french green lentils, rinsed
1 bunch of chard, leaves and stems chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
2 tablespoon sumac
1 lemon zested and juiced
2 tablespoon parsley, minced
1/2 cup sour cream

In a large pot I combined my leek, carrots, potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, broth, water, lentils and the chard stems. As this simmered I added the juice of half a lemon, the sumac and some salt and pepper. I let this simmer for about 40 minutes then added the zucchini and chard leaves. I let this simmer about 10 minutes longer.

While the soup was cooking, I combined the lemon zest and minced parsley with a bit of salt and pepper. I combined half of this mixture with the sour cream and then set them both aside.

I tested the soup for seasoning and decided to add the juice from the other half of the lemon and a bit more salt. To serve, I ladled my soup into a bowl and topped it with a dollop of the sour cream mixture and a sprinkle of the lemon zest-parsley mixture and sumac. I served the soup with a slice of toasty sourdough bread that I had sprinkled with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.

While his was very tasty I think I may have liked it better without the potatoes, however the husband strongly disagreed. The soup was good on it's own (very fresh tasting with the lemon), but the addition of the sour cream made it wonderful. The toasty bread was a very yummy accompaniment (way better than crackers).