Lentil soup with roasted tomatoes and eggplant

With the weather turning colder today, a soup sounds nice. I pulled the last of my eggplant from the garden and I easily have the three pounds of tomatoes sitting on my counter. We got a nice bunch of kale this week, more than last week, so it will be going into the soup as well. I found this recipe on line at Nourished Kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups green lentils, picked over and rinsed well
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 lbs heirloom tomatoes, halved and seeded
• 1 lb eggplant, any variety, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons unrefined extra virgin olive oil , plus extra to serve
• 2 tablespoons clarified butter/ghee
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin
• 3 ribs celery, sliced thin
• 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 quarts roast chicken stock or filtered water
• 1 bunch kale, trimmed and coarsely chopped

1. Pour lentils into a large mixing bowl and cover with hot water by two inches.  Stir in vinegar, cover with a kitchen towel, and allow the lentils to soak for eight to twelve hours.  After they’ve soaked for eight to twelve hours, drain off the water and rinse them well.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Arrange tomatoes and eggplant on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and roast at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about thirty minutes or until the tomatoes begin to caramelize.
3. Melt ghee in a heavy-bottomed stock pot and stir in onion and celery. Fry the them in ghee until it softens and becomes translucent, six to eight minutes, then stir in mustard, cumin and coriander.
4. Pour chicken stock into the pot over the onions and stir in soaked lentils. Ad the bay leaves. Cover and simmer until the lentils are tender, about twenty minutes.  Once the lentils are tender, stir in roasted tomatoes and eggplant and continue simmering, covered, for a further twenty to twenty-five minutes.
5. After twenty to twenty-five minutes, turn off the heat, stir in the kale and cover.  Allow the kale to wilt under in the ambient heat of the soup.  Season the soup to taste with unrefined sea salt, coarsely ground black pepper, and additional olive oil.

YIELD: about 8 servings | TIME: 8 to 12 hours (soaking), 30 minutes (oven), 45 minutes (stovetop)

**This soup is really good! I'll be making it again. Next time, if I don't have eggplant, I'll substitute mushrooms.