French Lentil Soup

This winter I'm looking for hearty, filling, tummy warming soups. And this one is a winner. This recipe comes from "Veganomicon - The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook", written by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. French lentil soup with tarragon and thyme is so delicious they say, "this is the last lentil soup recipe you will ever need." And I agree! I did change their recipe slightly, because I can! Always feel free to play around with recipes, makes it more fun. A recipe is mostly a guideline (I'm still trying to learn that when I cook I can substitute sometimes). Have fun!!

French Lentil Soup
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 Tbs olive oil
2 yellow onions, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 can diced tomatoes (I used Italian style)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika (Hungarian preferably)
6 cups water or vegetable broth
2 cups French lentils (or they are also called brown lentils)
2 bay leaves
2 1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat a large soup pot over medium heat
2. Saute the onion and carrots for about 10 minutes, until onions have browned a bit.
3. Add the garlic, tarragon, thyme, and paprika, and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the tomatoes, with the juice and stir to deglaze the pot.
4. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the water, lentils, bay leaves, salt and pepper, then cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, about 45 minutes, or you have tender lentils.
If the soup is too thin, cook uncovered for a few more minutes *I had to cook for 10 more minutes uncovered to get to where I wanted it*, If it looks to thick, add a little water.
Serve and enjoy.

I tried some with tortilla chips, YUM!