Veg Italian Wedding Soup...sort of.

Tonight I made a simple soup, something that`s been kicking around my head for awhile. I can`t remember the last time I had Italian Wedding Soup, but I kinda sorta remember the flavour, and this recipe comes pretty close. At some point I`ll try making mini-meatballs, but whatever, ground round and lentils make a nice quick tasty alternative...

1 small onion, in small dice
1 celery stalk, in small dice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 pk Yves Italian ground round
1 tomato, small dice
1 carrot, grated
3/4 cup white wine
1 mushroom bouillon cube
1/2 cup Israeli couscous

3/4 cup cooked lentils (Puy lentils preferred)
1-2 tsp smoked paprika
ground pepper & salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add in onion and celery, fry until golden, 3-4 minutes. Add ground round, continue frying until browned, stirring to prevent it from sticking to bottom of pot. Add tomato, carrot, wine, bouillon cube and Israeli couscous. Add enough water to cover by 1 inch or so, and bring to boil. Continue boiling until Israeli couscous is cooked through, add more water as needed. Finally, add lentils, paprika, salt and pepper, and simmer 1 minute longer.

Sprinkle with veg parmesan cheese to serve, and crusty bread to soak up the broth!