Recipe - Pasta And Lentil Soup

One half cup Olive Oil
1 lg Onion, Chopped
2/3 cup Mushrooms, Chopped
4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
8 cup Water
1 pound Dried Lentils
16 ounce Tomato Paste
1 Bay Leaf
One fourth teaspoon Ground Ginger
Salt And Pepper, To Taste
1 cup Pastina, Small Pasta Shells

1. Pour the olive oil into a large soup pot. Add and saute the onions,
mushrooms, and garlic over lowmedium heat for about 2 or 3 minutes. Stir
continually.

2. Add the water, lentils, and tomato paste. Stir well and bring the water
to a boil over high heat. Then reduce heat to medium. Add the bay leaf,
ginger, salt, and pepper. Stir, cover the pot, and cook the soup for 40
minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

3. Add the pasta, cover the pot, and simmer slowly for 15 minutes or until
pasta is cooked. Stir again and serve immediately. Some grated Parmesan may
b sprinkled on top of each serving.

Recipe by: Twelve Months of Monastery Soups Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1
#649 by Sue suechef@sover.net on Jun 26, 1997