Greek Lemon Lentil Soup with Chicken

Ingredients

• 300 g dry brown or green lentils (no soaking)
• 800 g raw chicken breast, whole
• 2 L water or low-sodium stock
• 400 g canned chopped tomato
• 250 g carrot, diced
• 200 g onion, diced
• 200 g celery, diced
• 20 g garlic (~5 cloves)
• 40 g olive oil
• 80 ml lemon juice (~3 lemons)
• 30 g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 bay leaves · 1 tsp dried oregano · black pepper · salt at the end

Method

1. Sweat onion, carrot and celery in the olive oil, 8 minutes, until soft and sweet. Do not brown them.
2. Garlic, 1 minute — no further. Browned garlic turns bitter and the whole pot carries it.
3. Add lentils, tomato, bay, oregano and the water. Bring up, then simmer 30 minutes until the lentils are soft but still whole.
4. Add the chicken breasts whole and poach 18 minutes. Lift out, shred with two forks, return to the pot.
5. Lemon and parsley off the heat, not during. Cooked lemon goes flat and slightly bitter; added at the end it is the whole point of the dish. Salt now, once the lemon is in — it needs less than you think.
6. Remove the bay leaves. Cool, then portion into six. It thickens overnight — loosen each portion with a splash of water when reheating, and add a fresh squeeze of lemon at the bowl.
7. Instant Pot: sauté steps 1–2 in the pot, add lentils and liquid, 12 minutes high pressure, natural release. Then the chicken on sauté for 18 minutes.