By Leslie Brenner

At long last, it’s soup season! It couldn’t come too soon: For months, I’ve been saving up vegetable trimmings — celery, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, chard and more, that I’d chop, dice or slice, stash in a zipper bag and freeze. They’re just the thing to toss into a big lentil-based soup.

Depending on the mood of the household, I might push the flavors to lean in a Mediterranean direction— by including fresh thyme or basil, bay leaves, garlic and dried porcini. Or I might go gingery-spicy: lots of freshly ground cumin seed, coriander seed and turmeric. (Have you heard that turmeric has impressive health benefits? A recent study found much to celebrate. Ginger is also great for health.)

Whichever way you go, this soup very easy, eminently adaptable to what you have on hand, and surprisingly quick from start to finish — an hour or so should do it. Plus it’s vegan and gluten-free. What’s not to love?

This morning, with maximum healthfulness and flavor in mind, I went the gingery-spicy route, adding celery to the diced onion and carrot (thereby turning the starting base into mirepoix, as the French call it). I probably doubled the turmeric that went in; I left off the thyme, and added green lentils into the mix with black and red ones. After adding the lentils, I tossed in all those saved-up frozen chopped vegetables from the freezer.

Five minutes before it was done, I tossed in handfuls of arugula, and stirred in some fermented chile sauce a friend made. (Harissa is great, too, or really any chile-happy sauce.)

So warming. So good, and so healthy, satisfying and hearthy. And all in less than an hour on the stove.

The perfect first soup for soup season!

RECIPE: Gingery Lentil and Greens Soup

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