Winter is my favorite time of the year, the cold weather makes us all want to have something warm and comforting, not too mention the weather sometimes makes us lazy ! So why not cook up something easy?  For me winter is the time for one pot soups and stews,  and one such recipe my family loves is lentil and chicken soup. I absolutely love to curl up on the couch, with a good movie and enjoy this comforting warm bowl of  soup.

If you are vegan/vegetarian then you may skip the chicken and replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock or water.

Ingredients

2 tbs of avocado oil (or any other cooking oil you use )

1 large carrot small diced

1 stem celery small diced

1 yellow onion small diced

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 cup orange lentils washed thoroughly

1 bay leaf

3 chicken thigh chopped in bite size pieces

1 large tomato diced

4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups of water

1tsp of cumin powder

1tsp of smoked paprika powder

cilantro for garnish

salt to taste

Heat oil in a dutch oven or a pot over a medium flame. Add onions, celery and carrots,  sautéing  until the onion is translucent. Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, then add the chicken  and lentils and sauté on a medium high flame for about a minute. Add Bay leaf, cumin powder, paprika powder, tomato, salt to taste , stock and water.  Bring it to a gentle boil and then simmer covered for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the lentils are completely cooked. To serve I quickly fry up left over tortillas in hot oil until they are crisp and top the soup with it. Also fresh cilantro seals the deal and adds a lot of flavor. enjoy !