We’ve all done it at one time or another. You have a great plan for dinner (or any meal, really) and you misread the directions, get stuck on the phone, get distracted by kids or pets, or leave the slow cooker on too long. It doesn’t matter what the distraction is, what matters is how you recover and save the overcooked meal, right? I don’t really know what happened. I made Lentil Soup in the slow cooker, just like I’ve done a thousand times and it typically turns out great! This time, it turned out mushy and there wasn’t a whole lentil to be found. Damn it! I figured out later that it spent about 2.5 hours too long in the slow cooker (a little miscalculation on my part). If you’re like me and have overcooked Lentil Soup then you’re in luck because I’m going to show you how to revive it.
Don’t worry, if you need a great Lentil Soup recipe, you can find one below – just be sure to heed the cooking time (heh). For now, let’s focus on how to save this bucket of mush, shall we? Now, I don’t know what yours looks like, but mine looks a bit like canned dog food. And canned dog food does not interest or excite me. So, let’s get to work…
Step One – Blend
Grab your trusty hand blender, you know the one that looks like a stick with a blade on the end? Not really, that’s what cavemen used. Anyway, get the hand blender and get to work blending your mush, right in the slow cooker, if it’s still in there. Stir it around a bit with a spoon to make sure you get it all blended nicely. Or, if you don’t have a hand blender, you can ladle the soup into a regular blender and blend it in batches and return the soup to the bowl. Be careful pouring the mush into the blender…you’re likely end up with a big mess on the counter and possibly the floor. Trust me, I’ve done it!
Step Two – Sauté Veggies
Once your mush is blended (yep, I’m sticking with that), dice up about 2 cups of mixed veggies and sauté in a pan on nearly medium high heat with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Season the veggies with the same seasonings you used in the Lentil Soup. In this case, I seasoned with the following:
- a clove of garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
I skipped the crushed red pepper flakes because the soup already has a nice kick and I didn’t want to over do it.
Step Three – Mix & Serve
Once your veggies are sautéed to your liking, mix them into the soup to add some fresh texture. Ladle your revived soup into bowls and enjoy.
Bonus – Cook Lentils
If you really want to be an overachiever, cook up a new batch of lentils to add to the soup. This will really add to the texture and will greatly increase the amount of soup you have on hand. Follow the directions on the lentil package and cook accordingly. Add seasonings, similarly to how we did with the veggies above. Mix the lentils into the soup when they’re done.
Here’s the recipe for Lentil Soup. If you calculate the cooking time properly, you won’t need to revive it. 🙂 Want another lentil soup recipe? Try our Barley & Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard recipe.
Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 cup bell pepper diced
- 1 cup baby carrots diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup white onion diced
- 1-1/2 cups Frozen O'Brien Potatoes
- 2 cups dried lentils
- 16 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 32 oz vegetable broth
- 32 oz water
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp marjoram
Instructions
-
Crush garlic, dice veggies (first 5 ingredients listed) and put into slow cooker.
-
Add frozen O'Brien Potatoes and all the rest of the ingredients listed.
-
Turn on slow cooker to low heat and let cook for 10 hours.
-
When done, ladle into bowls and serve.
Recipe Notes
If this soup gets overcooked and turns mushy, please refer to the associated blog post for guidance on how to revive. Note: This shouldn't happen if you cook the soup on low for 10 hours.
Did you overcook Lentil Soup and need a revival? Let us know what you think! Or, let us know if you tried this Lentil Soup recipe. Snap a pic of your creation and share on social with #vegetariant.
Enjoy!
No Comments