Cooking is often a trial and error process. I made several batches of lentil soup that I didn’t particularly care for, until I finally arrived at this recipe. It’s simple but hearty and very filling.

To make this soup, you will need:

1 cup of chopped onion

1.5 cups of chopped mushrooms

1 can of diced fire roasted tomatoes

4 or 5 cloves of garlic

5 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 cup uncooked lentils (I used green, but any color works)

1 cup cooked rice

Italian herbs (basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme)

Salt, to taste

This will make about four servings of hearty soup. If you prefer a thinner soup that has more broth than vegetables, you can either leave out the rice or add more broth.

I recommend using portobello mushrooms because they tend to be much more tender than any other type of mushroom. But I’ve made this soup with cremini mushrooms and it turned out fine.

If you can’t find fire roasted tomatoes, plain diced tomatoes will be fine. Unless you’re making this soup in the summer during peak tomato season, I recommend buying canned tomatoes.

Here are the steps:

1. Put canola oil (or whatever cooking oil you like to use) in the bottom of a large pot and sauté your onions on medium heat for about five minutes.

2. Add mushrooms to the pot and sauté for another five minutes.

3. Add about 3/4 of your canned tomatoes into the pot. I only use 3/4 of the can because it makes for a good proportion of vegetables.

4. Add 4 or 5 whole cloves of garlic to the pot.

5. Let all those ingredients cook in the pot for another three minutes. Then pour in your vegetable broth and turn the heat up to high.

6. Add a pinch of salt (keeping in mind vegetable broth already has salt in it) and Italian herbs. I have a mixed Italian seasoning which includes dried basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary and sage, and I add about half a tablespoon of that. If you don’t have a blended Italian seasoning, add the ingredients individually.

7. When the soup comes to a boil, turn the heat back down to low and let it simmer. Add your lentils to the pot and allow them to cook in the soup. They lentils should only take about 15 minutes to cook.

8. Cook your rice separately. I like to cook the rice in its own pot because rice needs a lot of water to cook all the way through. When the rice is ready, add it to the soup. If the soup is too thick, add more broth or water.

9. Let the soup cook for another 10 minutes, or longer if you want to give the flavors more time to blend together. Remember to taste to see if the soup needs more salt or seasoning.