Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup

Just as I was finishing up making tea from the Middle East, I happened to go to Half Price Books, and decide to spring for a Middle Eastern cook book. I thought that I could save money and just check one out of the library, but I live in the country, so I don't get to the library as much as I should, and there's something nice about just having the book to browse whenever.

I remember my mom's attempt at using lentils for protein in order to stretch our already tight food budget. Brown lentils boiled in water with carrots, celery, and a little onion. I don't remember if the bean water was still on it, but It was definitely not kid friendly. It tasted like boiled lentils. Of course I don't know that this soup is really kid friendly either, but it definitely has more flavor.

The lady who wrote the book I got talks a lot about Nazareth, so that is the region I'm thinking this book represents. Apparently this lady runs a restaurant, and raised several boys, so these recipes all make a MASSIVE amount of food. That doesn't work for me, so I started to pare things down to serve one or two (as long as you like to use small amounts of leftovers).

The other thing about me buying a cookbook, is that I usually cook how I sew and make lace. Instructions, what are those? Not to mention reading what is needed, then scrounging around the house to find what I have that will work. The result is a dish that is loosely based on someone's book. 

This soup makes 2 large bowls, or 4 smaller bowls of soup, depending on your mood. I did actually make an effort to measure things out (I just got a neat digital food scale-no more guessing with the analogue one!), but I know that in the future, I will probably just cut and dump like I always do. The author's note on the soup section says that they are all even better the next day. Given my existence on leftovers, this should work out.
So, let's get started:

The recipe (more or less)

1/4 cup (50 g) lentils - whatever color you want. I had green lentils
1 carrot (this one turned out to be 70 g)
1/2 stalk of celery (this one turned out to be 25 g)
a couple hand fulls of spinach (45 g)
a roma tomato (optional according to the original recipe)(also, I used more than a tomato because they were frozen into a lump that weighed 130 grams, so that's what got added)
green onion to taste
jalapeno pepper, dried chili to taste
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
black pepper to taste
chicken broth (around 2 cups/500 ml)
lemon juice to taste

Pre-cook the lentils. Simmer in water for 20 minutes, or use a pressure cooker for about 7 (I released the pressure right away because lentils do cook quick). Drain and set aside.
Saute onion in oil, followed by peppers of choice and garlic.
Saute carrot/celery mix
Add spices and lentils, then dump in your liquids and tomatoes
Simmer 15-20 minutes. This part is important people - take this time
Remove from heat, and stir in spinach




Since a lot of my ingredients are "to taste", or if you just don't feel like measuring anything out, meet the ingredients. I used green onions because that is the only kind my gut will tolerate - use whatever onions you want, or don't use any if they don't agree with you. Saute until they are a color you like. I originally planned to use part of a dried chili for kick, but I had diced jalapeno already in the freezer so I went with that. I then added a minced clove of garlic.

Aren't they all pretty?

For vegetables, I have some fresh, and the tomato monolith from the freezer. Sometimes I wonder why exactly I buy celery, but then I remember that it is good at holding up peanut butter since I don't normally keep bread or crackers in the house. Sometimes it's nice to find other uses for it.

Cooking, cooking...

I had some leftover chicken broth that needed to get used up. From trying some Asian and African recipes, I've found that you don't necessarily need a "broth" to make a soup. If you use your onions/garlic/ginger, spices, and often some sort of citrus like lemon or lime correctly, you can turn plain water into a tasty broth. Even with the premade broth, I gave it a good slosh of lemon juice - a few tablespoons worth probably.

After 5 or 6 minutes of simmering, I took a sniff, then sip of broth and was beginning to doubt myself. So I set a timer for 10 minutes and hoped for the best. I took the soup off of the heat, and stirred in the spinach to wilt.

I found that it actually tasted pretty good. I think I'll make it again sometime.

So the review from the first bowl is that it's an okay soup. In the future, I would probably add cumin seeds to the oil at the beginning, and let them pop for extra flavor (I think cumin seeds smell really good for some reason), maybe some coriander seeds, too. I would also increase the ground spices as well, add some salt, use water for the broth, and increase the lemon juice. Fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley would be nice with it, too, but that would involve planning ahead. I also know from repeated experience that when cilantro starts to go, it smells really nasty.