Fall Flavor- Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup

The weather is finally cooling off here and it has been so lovely. It's making me want to do lots of fall cooking, which makes me think of pumpkin, apples, comfy casseroles, and hearty soups. When I'm in the mood for cooking I like to take a look back through my past issues of Everyday Food. This weekend I pulled out all my October issues and did some perusing. I saw this soup recipe and thought I'd give it a go. It came out pretty well, and I'm definitely looking forward to trying more new soups this season.

Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for serving
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
2 bunches Swiss chard, stalks cut crosswise into 1" pieces, leaves torn into 2" pieces, kept separate
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon

• In a large saucepan with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and browned, 3-5 minutes. Add tomato poaste, oregano, and thyme; stir to combine.
• Add lentils, 5 cups of water, and tomatoes with their juice; bring to a coil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes. Add chard, stalks and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chard leaves; season with salt and pepper, and cook until lentils and chard are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Stir in lemon juice; ladle into bowls. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with bread, if desired.

My notes: I totally forgot about the lemon juice at the end. I was also prepping some veggies for the week and taking peeks at "Glee" while I was cooking, so it just slipped my mind. This soup tasted good without it, although it could use a little bit more kick. Not sure if the lemon juice would do it for me though. Made a batch of cornbread to go with it.