French and Beluga Lentil Soup

I had a half cup of French lentils and wanted to make a warming soup to help get the chill out of my bones on this cold, cold day! I decided that it would make sense to use more lentils to make it more satisfying, so I added some beluga lentils (aka black lentils) since they have about the same cook time. You can just use a whole cup of one of them and it should be fine. If you don't have either, type, be aware that the texture of other lentils is very different and will change the soup a lot! These lentils stay a little bit firm, and I like that.

I really enjoyed this! If you're not a cabbage person, you could substitute a cup of chopped celery or green beans, but the cabbage is really lovely here.

Ingredients
4 TBS olive oil

2 medium onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic

2 cups of sliced carrots
1 cup of chopped cabbage
1/2 cup French lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup beluga lentils, rinsed
4 cups of water
1 bouillon cube (I used Edward & Sons Not Chick'n)
4 TBS tomato paste
2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp Parisien Bonnes Herbes (this is a blend of chives, dill, basil, tarragon, chervil, and white pepper - if you don't have it, you could do 1/4-1/2 tsp of each of the things on the list that you DO have)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Method

In a pressure cooker: warm the oil on the brown setting and add the onion. Stir frequently for about 5 minutes and then add the garlic, carrots, and cabbage. Stir for another 5 minutes and add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix them well, put on the lid, and cook on high pressure for 14 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for about 15 minutes and serve with French bread.

If you don't have a pressure cooker, it'll take about 1-1.5 hours to get the lentils soft enough, but the steps would otherwise be the same. You'll also need to stir occasionally to prevent things from sticking and you may need to add additional water because it will evaporate as you're cooking. It should be a little bit brothy, like in the picture. 

Nutrition per cup (makes 8 cups)

Calories: 204
Fat: 8.1 g
Carbs: 25.4 g (8%)
Protein: 8.2 g (11%)
Fiber: 30%
Sugars: 5.6 g
Vitamin A: 104%
Vitamin C: 20%
Calcium: 3%
Iron: 4%