EN DE FR ES PT IT
Swiss Lentil & Vegetable Soup with Chive Quark
Recipe

Swiss Lentil & Vegetable Soup with Chive Quark

Starter • Switzerland

A lighter, everyday Swiss-style lentil soup built on a classic mirepoix and herbs, served with a spoon of chive quark for freshness and satisfaction.

Why smarter

Lentils add filling protein and fibre while keeping the soup naturally creamy without cream; a small amount of quark gives richness with moderate saturated fat.

Chef tip

If you like a thicker texture, briefly blend 1–2 ladles of soup and stir back in—no extra fat needed.

Soft line

Simple, cosy, and weeknight-friendly.

Ingredients

# Ingredient Text Amount Unit Ingredient Name Notes
1 Canola oil 2.000 tsp canola oil
2 Onion, finely chopped 1.000 medium onion
3 Carrots, diced 2.000 medium carrots
4 Celery stalks, diced 2.000 stalks celery
5 Leek (white/light green), sliced and rinsed 1.000 small leek
6 Garlic, minced 2.000 cloves garlic
7 Tomato paste 1.000 tbsp tomato paste
8 Brown or green lentils, rinsed 200.000 g lentils
9 Low-salt vegetable stock 1000.000 ml vegetable stock or water plus stock cube to taste
10 Bay leaf 1.000 leaf bay leaf
11 Dried thyme 1.000 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp fresh
12 Potato, peeled and diced 1.000 medium potato for body and mild creaminess
13 Red wine vinegar 1.000 tbsp red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
14 Fine salt salt to taste
15 Black pepper black pepper to taste
16 Quark (lean, nature) 150.000 g quark
17 Milk 2.000 tbsp milk to loosen the quark
18 Fresh chives, finely sliced 2.000 tbsp chives
19 Lemon zest or a squeeze of lemon 1.000 tsp lemon optional, for freshness

Method

  1. Heat the canola oil in a medium pot over medium heat.
  2. Add onion, carrots, celery and leek. Cook 6–8 minutes, stirring, until softened but not browned.
  3. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute.
  4. Add lentils, stock, bay leaf, thyme and diced potato. Bring to a gentle boil.
  5. Reduce to a simmer and cook 22–28 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils and potato are tender.
  6. Remove bay leaf. For a slightly thicker soup, mash a few potato pieces against the side of the pot (or blend 1–2 ladles and stir back in).
  7. Stir in vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste, adding a splash of water if you want it thinner.
  8. Mix quark with milk, chives and optional lemon. Serve soup hot with a spoonful of chive quark swirled on top.