Soups

Lentil Soup from Natchio’s Greektown in Duluth

Lentil Soup

This soup was served at Natchio’s Greektown Restaurant in Duluth, Minnesota. It’s a perfect meal to make and eat later in the week.
Servings: 8
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb. lentils
  • ¼ cup long grain rice
  • 1 qt. water
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 c. green pepper, chopped
  • ¼ cup carrot, chopped
  • ¼ cup celery, chopped
  • ¼ c. olive oil or butter or margarine
  • ½ tsp. pepper
  • 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ tsp. oregano
  • ⅛ tsp. chill powder
  • ⅛ tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3 Tbsp. wine vinegar

Instructions

  • Combine lentils, rice, water, onion, garlic, green pepper, carrot, celery, olive oil, pepper, tomato paste, bay leaves, oregano, chill powder, and cumin in a soup pot. Let come to a rolling boil.
  • Simmer for approximately 1 hour. Then add salt and vinegar.
  • Remove bay leaves when serving.
Notes
The soup is a perfect make ahead meal. It’s noted in the recipe that it tasted better when it’s made the previous day and refrigerated overnight.
This recipe is vegetarian. However, replacing the water with meat broth of choice can add dimension to the recipe. When preparing the soup with meat broth, do not add the olive oil or butter.

About Natchio’s Greektown Restaurant

Location:
Duluth, Minnesota

Status:
Permanently Closed

Dates active:
1971-1996

Tom Pratchios purchased the Duluth Dinette in 1971. The restaurant at 109 N. Second Avenue W. was small, with only a few tables and a tiny kitchen. Tom worked hard to grow the business and carve out a unique spot in Duluth’s restaurant scene.

For ten years, he experimented with various cuisines before deciding on Greek food. Natchio’s Greektown Restaurant featured family recipes that made its menu unforgettable, including gyros, moussaka, avgolemono soup, saganaki, dolmathes, spanakopita, and tasty pita sandwiches.

In 1985, Tom expanded the restaurant to seat 150 people by acquiring a neighboring shop. His wife, Janet, played a major role in the kitchen, adapting old-world Greek recipes into dishes that appealed to modern tastes.  

The restaurant offered diners a unique experience with belly dancers on weekend nights, a fortune teller who entertained both kids and adults, and Greek music playing all day and night.

The restaurant remained family-owned and offered food made from scratch until it closed on New Year’s Eve in 1996.

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