Some soups genuinely do inspire a devotion akin to love, and this is one of them. In the cold of winter, when Gourmet editors ponder the matter of what soup to cook up in a steamy Saturday morning kitchen to provide comfort all weekend long, they decide with remarkable frequency to make the following one. Those in the know also add about a pound of smoked sausage; even the best can be made better.

Ingredients

　　5 cups chicken broth

　　1 1/2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed

　　1 cup brown rice

　　a 32- to 35-ounce can tomatoes, drained, reserving the juice, and chopped

　　3 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces

　　1 onion, chopped

　　1 stalk of celery, chopped

　　3 garlic cloves, minced

　　1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried basil

　　1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried orégano

　　1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried thyme

　　1 bay leaf

　　1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

　　2 tablespoons cider vinegar, or to taste

　　In a heavy kettle combine the broth, 3 cups water, the lentils, the rice, the tomatoes with the reserved juice, the carrots, the onion, the celery, the garlic, the basil, the orégano, the thyme, and the bay leaf, bring the liquid to a boil, and simmer the mixture, covered, stirring occasionally, for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the lentils and rice are tender. Stir in the parsley, the vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste and discard the bay leaf. The soup will be thick and will thicken as it stands. Thin the soup, if desired, with additional hot chicken broth or water.