Lentil Vegetable Soup

I saw this on Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics show on the Food Network and it looked so good and so easy to make. I haven't tried it, yet, but I'm hoping maybe to get a certain mom who is visiting in two days to make some and freeze some for leftovers when BBJ arrives. It seems like it might even be good in the summer...we shall see, though. I have majorly escaped the heat of the summer of 2009 with this pregnancy.

This would probably be so good with warm sourdough bread. Or in a sourdough bread bowl. Nom nom nom.

Ingredients
* 1 pound French green lentils
* 4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large onions)
* 4 cups chopped leeks, white part only (2 leeks)
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
* 1/4 cup good olive oil, plus additional for drizzling on top
* 1 tablespoon kosher salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 3 cups medium-diced celery (8 stalks)
* 3 cups medium-diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots)
* 3 quarts chicken stock
* 1/4 cup tomato paste
* 2 tablespoons red wine or red wine vinegar
* Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

In a large stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions, leeks, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked through. Check the seasonings. Add the red wine and serve hot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan