Ingredients
Scale
- 1.5 pounds of your favorite tomato (or two dry pints of cherry tomatoes), roughly chopped, and divided
- 1.5 cups red lentils, rinsed
- 5 cups no-salt vegetable or chicken broth
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled, smashed, and minced
- 1-2 large stems of basil with leaves, plus 1 cup rough chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup canned tomato paste
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 T lemon juice, preferably fresh
- ¾ cup whole milk
Instructions
- Add half the tomatoes, the lentils, broth, minced garlic, basil stems, tomato paste, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, and oregano to a 6 to 8 quart slow cooker. Stir ingredients, then cook on high setting for 4 hours.
- Remove the basil stem from the slow cooker. Use a whisk or immersion blender to help break up the tomatoes and lentils. The texture doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, but should be more like a soup than a stew.
- Add the remaining tomatoes, the cup of chopped basil, lemon juice, and cream to the cooker. Stir to combine and cook for another five to ten minutes, until the milk has heated through. This is a thick soup, but if it seems too thick for your liking, add a little more broth, milk, or water.
- Add half the tomatoes, the lentils, broth, minced garlic, basil stems, tomato paste, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, and oregano to a 6 to 8 quart slow cooker. Stir ingredients, then cook on high setting for 4 hours.
- Remove the basil stem from the slow cooker. Use a whisk or immersion blender to help break up the tomatoes and lentils. The texture doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, but should be more like a soup than a stew.
- Add the remaining tomatoes, the cup of chopped basil, lemon juice, and cream to the cooker. Stir to combine and cook for another five to ten minutes, until the milk has heated through. This is a thick soup, but if it seems too thick for your liking, add a little more broth, milk, or water.