Castelluccio lentil soup: here’s the recipe!
Castelluccio lentil soup: here's the recipe!
Ingredients
- 300 gr Dried lentils from Castelluccio
- 1 stalk Celery
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Clove Garlic
- 1 Onion
- 1 Bunch of thyme Tightly tied
- to taste Extra virgin olive oil Il Casolare Biologico Farchioni
- to taste Salt
Instructions
- Chop the celery, carrot, onion and garlic clove by hand.
- Meanwhile, cook the lentils in plenty of water for about 10 minutes.
- Cook the chopped vegetables and the thyme in oil over very low heat.
- Add the lentils and season with salt.
- Add half a glass of boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Purée the soup in a blender, add extra virgin olive oil and emulsify.
- Pour the soup into a hot dish.
- Add croutons and season with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Video
Today we will prepare a lentil soup accompanied by croutons. It is a simple, tasty, homey dish that makes both adults and children happy. We will be using Castelluccio lentils for this recipe: These specialty lentils are unique: not only are they very tasty, but their skin is also fine and tender. Let’s prepare it together, following a few simple tricks to get it right.
Lentil soup: Castelluccio lentils are the best
Castelluccio lentils have a very ancient history: they have always been grown in limited quantities in the high plains of the Monti Sibillini, at an altitude of 1500 meters.
Castelluccio lentils are an IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) product. They owe their unique characteristics to the rigid temperature and difficult climatic conditions in which they are grown: these pulses are 100% natural and do not require any chemical treatment to be preserved from pests.
Thanks to their thin skin they don’t need to be soaked before cooking, which saves a lot of time.
Soffritto: the first step for a perfect lentil soup.
You don’t need a lot of ingredients to cook a lentil soup. These ingredients, however, need to be of the highest quality and should be processed correctly.
The quality of the soffritto is crucial, in that it will give the soup that extra touch of taste which determines the perfection of the final result. Here are some tips:
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You will need some celery, a carrot, a clove of garlic and a small onion (we added a bunch of thyme for more flavor).
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Chop them by hand. Food processors release heat and might alter the soffritto’s organoleptic properties.
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For even cooking the vegetables should be cut to a similar size.
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You can use a non-stick pan, a copper pan or a clay pot, which spread the heat evenly and will prevent the soffritto from burning.
It is very important to remember that only extra virgin olive oil should be used for the soffritto: its very high smoke point allows a perfect browning of the vegetables.
We opted for Il Casolare Biologico Farchioni, an unfiltered, cold-pressed oil produced with olives from organic farming. With its rich green color, its fruity taste and the flavor of freshly pressed olives, it is ideal both for cooking and as a dressing.
