Papa Sandemano’s Vegetarian Lentil Soup (Inspired by Marcella Hazan)

GET TO THE POINT, PAPA—JUST GIVE ME THE RECIPE!

A Tradition of Lentils and Luck

In the Sandemano family, New Year’s traditions combine practicality and superstition:

❌ No fowl on New Year’s Day—we don’t want our luck flying away.
✅ Yes to lentils—because they look like coins (and we could all use a little more prosperity, right?).

This year, Papa’s taking on the challenge of creating a vegetarian version of Marcella Hazan’s lentil soup for the Sous Chef (a.k.a. a picky eater who objects to eating animals). Will it work? Maybe. Mess it up? Probably. But that’s how we learn, folks. Papa Sandemano always steps into the kitchen like it’s their wrestling ring: ready to win—or at least put on a hell of a show.

Speaking of Marcella, let’s just say: love her, but measuring butter, onions, carrots, and celery by the tablespoon? It threw Papa, who spent an embarrassing amount of time Googling why anyone would do this. Papa’s theories:

She had someone chopping for her.
She prepped a giant batch of “soffrito” in advance.
She had to or the powers-that-be wouldn’t publish her books.

Oh, and “soffrito”? Don’t let that Italian word intimidate you—it’s their fancy word for onion, carrots, and celery. Like the French and their “mirepoix”. Same idea, different language.

The Recipe

Fine! Here’s the recipe! If you read this already—Thanks for reading this far! Papa promises the rambling is done… for now.

Ingredients

Butter: ¼ cup (see below for Papa’s rant on butter measurement)
Onion: Approx. ¼ small yellow onion, finely diced
Carrot: Approx. 2 inches of a medium carrot, finely diced
Celery: Approx. 3 inches of a celery stalk, finely diced
Smoked Paprika: 1 teaspoon
Tomatoes: 1 cup canned tomatoes with juice
Lentils: ½ pound dried lentils
Liquid: 1 liter tap water (or, if you’re feeling fancy, “mushroom broth”)
Flavoring Agent: 3 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon (vegetable base)
Vegemite: ¼ teaspoon (Papa’s secret weapon for umami depth)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan or nutritional yeast for serving

Instructions

Melt ½ of the butter (2 small pieces) in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden.
Add the carrot and celery, stirring occasionally, and cook for 2-3 minutes to build the “soffrito” flavors. (Don’t let that Italian word intimidate you—it’s their fancy word for onion, carrots, and celery. Like the French and their ‘mirepoix.’)
Lower the heat and sprinkle the smoked paprika over the “soffrito”. Stir gently for about 30 seconds, just until the aroma develops.
Add the tomatoes and stir, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot like you’re deglazing. Let the mixture bubble gently for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in a dab of Vegemite (Papa’s secret weapon). Start with ¼ teaspoon—it’s bold, but it brings depth. A little goes a long way
Add the lentils, liquid, (and its flavoring agent. Bring to a steady simmer, cover, and cook until the lentils are tender (about 45 minutes). Add more liquid if needed.
Stir in the remaining butter (2 small pieces) just before serving to give the soup a luxurious finish.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve with Parmesan (or nutritional yeast) or a drizzle of olive oil.

Papa Wanna Get Something Off Thier Chest: Stop Playing with Your Butter

Listen up! Papa’s got something to say, and it’s time you stopped playing with your butter. You know what grinds Papa’s gears? Recipes telling you to measure “3 tablespoons of butter.” Who has time for that? Who wants to dig out a sticky tablespoon just to appease a recipe?

❌ Not you
❌ Not Papa
❌ Not the dishwasher—They already giving you the side-eye thinking, “Whatcha gonna do with that?”

Here’s the deal: Let’s simplify it. Look at the butter package:

Here’s what Papa means–Look at the handy-dandy ¼ cup line. Cut there. It doesn’t have to be perfect!

Now cut that into four pieces. Boom—four tablespoons. Use half (2 pieces) for cooking and save the rest for swirling in at the end. And if those pieces aren’t perfectly even? WHO CARES? Papa says, “Close enough is good enough!”

This isn’t rocket science; it’s butter. Butter doesn’t judge. Butter just makes things taste amazing. And guess what? With butter, there’s no losing—only flavor-packed wins.

Optional: For Meat Lovers

If you’re serving omnivores alongside vegetarians, crisp up some pancetta, prosciutto, or bacon in a separate pan. Let everyone top their bowl as they like—because soup should make everybody happy.