Green lentil soup with kale

Wednesday evening I really didn't know what to cook when I came home from my painting studio. I browsed through my collection of cookbooks, but everything that seemed doable in terms of ingredients, required far too much effort and time. Then I stumbled upon Joumana Accad's Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard in The Taste of Beirut and I got inspired to make this version with kale. These days we're eating rather a lot of soup, because I can make a big amount of it, which enables me to go out and not worry about what I'll have to be making for dinner when I get home late. Like Wednesday. For this soup I didn't have enough green lentils, so I added a little bit of smaller brown lentils as well, as you can see in the picture, hoping both kinds would be tender at the same time. You can choose the kind of lentils you prefer, but always keep in mind that the cooking times may vary. These green ones were starting to soften at 25 minutes, but I've had some other kinds that took almost 45 minutes to get tender. Just check them every now and then and you'll be okay. Ingredients, serves 4-5 - 200g green lentils - 150g chopped kale - 1 large onion, chopped - 1,4L water or veg stock - juice of 1 lemon - 1 garlic clove, crushed - a bunch of flat leaved parsley, chopped - 1 dried tomato - 1 bay leaf - salt and black pepper - extra vergine olive oil Heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot and sauté the onions until golden. Stir in the lentils and add the water or stock, bay leaf and dried tomato. Cover, bring to a boil and lower the heat. Cook the lentils until they are quite softened, but not completely. They should still be al dente. Mine took 25 minutes. Add the chopped kale, stir and let cook for another 10 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the lemon juice, chopped parsley, crushed garlic and a generous amount of extra vergine olive oil. Make sure you invest in good quality olive oil, otherwise the soup will be ruined. Season with salt and black pepper and serve hot. Enjoy!