Greek Lentil Soup

My daughter-in-law showed me this recipe. I didn't know I liked lentils! (Both the soup and the vegetable stock recipes come from rebarmodernfood cookbook written by Audrey Alsterberg and Wanda Urbanowicz and published by Big Ideas Publishing, Inc, in 2001. This is a great cookbook that Amelia says she has cooked the entire collection of recipes. So, I bought my own copy, and agree that the recipes are delicious! I did make a few changes of my own, depending on the ingredients I had on hand.)

2 c red lentils (I found them at our food coop)
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 t salt
8 cloves, minced garlic
2 carrots, diced
1 t cracked pepper
1/4 t red chile flakes (I think I used a little more?)
1 T minced rosemary (I used dried, but will use real when my rosemary starts growing!)
2 T minced oregano (ditto)
2 bay leaves
8 c vegetable stock
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 2 lemons
1 c crumbled feta cheese
2 t minced rosemary
cracked pepper to taste

Rinse lentils in a colander, set aside to drain. Heat oil in soup pot over medium-high heat and saute onion with 1 t salt until translucent. Add garlic, carrot, pepper, chiles, herbs, bay leaves and remaining salt. Stir well and saute until the carrots are just tender. Add rinsed lentils and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart. Remove bay leaves and puree soup (It can be left as is, but I like it pureed).

Season soup with lemon zest, lemon juice and more salt and pepper to taste.

Before serving, stir together the feta cheese, rosemary and pepper. Sprinkle over hot bowls of soup. Enjoy!