Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes

1/4 cup Olive Oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large onions, diced
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
10 cups vegetable stock (I used a homemade one without salt)
1 1/4 cup lentils
3/4 cup minced fresh parsley, divided
3/4 tsp salt
Black pepper, ground, to taste
1 pound sweet potato, peeled, and cut into 3/4 inch dice

Heat oil in large stockpot, over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, celery, thyme and bay leaves and saute for 10 minutes.

Raise heat to high. Stir in stock, lentils, and 1/4 cup of the parsley, with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook the soup, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and dice your sweet potato. After 30 minutes, add sweet potato, and simmer for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until sweet potators are tender (I would check after 10 minutes, depending on how big your dice are). Discard bay leaves, if you wish. Take 2 cups of the soup out, and puree it in a food processor. Add puree back to soup, with 1/4 cup of the parsley.

Serve hot, with parmesan cheese on top, and cracked pepper, and remaining parsley (if desired).

The serving sizes are approximate.. I think I ended up with about 12 cups of soup, and ate 2 cups (1 bowl) for dinner...

My mom adds the celery later, with the lentils... I saute mine with the onions and garlic. Either way, it is delicious. I put an extra 1/4 cup of parsley in the recipe, because I like a lot of parsley, on top. The original recipe from my mom only called for !/2 cup.

Serving Size: Makes 12 cups soup - 1 main course serving is 2 cups

Number of Servings: 12

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BRAGA76.