A meatless-inspired sauerkraut soup. 

On this rainy Saturday afternoon, I am craving a soup that touches all the senses.  I was introduced to a recipe for sauerkraut soup a few months ago that was so tantalizing to the tongue.  That recipe was my inspiration today as I venture to add different flavours without the usual sausage addition that most of the recipes call for.  Here is what I came up with.

Half of a jar (1 L) of sauerkraut with the juices or preferably homemade
1 whole onion cut into thin strips
1/2 cup of dried brown lentils or kidney beans
1 cup of mushrooms cut into bite size pieces
1 cup of grated carrots
2 medium potatoes, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups of chicken/vegetable broth
2 cup of water, and more if needed
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tsp of smoky parika
salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onions and garlic together until translucent and then add the lentils to get a quick cook on them.  After a few minutes add in the sauerkraut along with the broth and water and bring to a boil.  Stir in the mushrooms, paprika, thyme and season to taste (I only added pepper.  Let this simmer until the beans are cooked through (depending on the bean, it can take longer, that's why I like to use dry lentils as they cook up in about 20 minutes or so)

Serve with some fresh parsley and twist of freshly ground black pepper.