Creamy French Lentils with Mushrooms & Kale

 Ingredients:

¾ cup French green lentils, rinsed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion

1 pound mixed mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, minced ( used dried)

2 tablespoons white wine*

2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce

1 ½ cups vegetable stock

⅓ cup half and half

3-4 kale stalks, stems removed and leaves sliced (1 ½ packed cups of sliced kale)

Directions:

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the lentils to the water along with a pinch of salt. Simmer the lentils until they’re just-tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a  medium soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions to the pot and stir. Cook the onions until slightly softened and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pot and let them sit for a full minute. Stir the mushrooms and season with pepper. Let the mushrooms sit in the pot for about a minute.

Stir the mushrooms until they start glistening slightly. Season the mushrooms liberally with salt. Add the garlic and thyme to the pot and stir. Once the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds, add the white wine to the pot. Stir the mushrooms. Add the drained lentils, half and half to the pot. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil.

Ladle half of the mushroom mixture into your blender pitcher, ensuring that you include enough of the liquid. Blend on high until completely smooth. Scrape the creamy blended mushroom mixture back into the pot. Add the sliced kale and stir. Bring the mixture to a boil and check it for seasoning. The texture should be like a thick and creamy stew and the kale should be slightly wilted..

Serve the creamy French lentils hot with toasts or other accompaniments of your choosing.

* I didn't add