French Lentil Rice Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

6 cups chicken broth or 6 cups vegetable broth
1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely diced
3 tablespoons uncooked white rice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon herbes de provence or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper or 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional) or 1/4 cup sour cream (optional)
1/4 cup parsley (optional)

Preparation

Stir together the broth, lentils, carrots, onion, celery, rice, garlic, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Remove 1 1/2 cups soup and puree in a food blender or with an immersion blender until almost smooth. Stir pureed soup back into the slow cooker.
Divide soup evenly among 4 serving bowls, garnishing each with 1 tablespoon cream and 1 tablespoon chopped parley, if desired.