Lentil Soup

It rained this weekend. I made a pretty conventional lentil soup for Munch and Mingle. People seemed to like it. I forgot the scallion tops, which I think add a lot to lentil or split pea soup, not to mention chicken soup. I used turkey ham in my soup this time.

Home-style Lentil Soup

Ingredients - amounts can be varied
1 pound dried lentils
2 medium to large chopped yellow onions (depending on whether you include scallions)
2 Tablespoons vegetable or olive oil (more if needed to caramelize onions)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried (optional)
2 large or 4 medium-sized ribs celery and some leaves, medium-diced
4 large or 6 medium-sized carrots, medium-diced
1 quarts water
1 pound diced ham, turkey ham or smoked turkey (optional)
Additional water or broth (about a quart)
Salt and additional pepper to taste
Rinsed, trimmed and diced green tops from 1 bunch scallions

Directions
Pick over and rinse lentils.

In a 6 quart or larger Dutch oven or stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions, pepper and thyme until the onions are translucent and start to caramelize, stirring frequently. For richer flavor, you can caramelize the onions to a light brown color. Watch that they don't burn. Lower heat if necessary. Add the celery and carrots and saute for a few more minutes if you have time. Add a quart of water and the lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and start to simmer, covered. Dice meat (if used) and mix into hot soup.

If you need to transport the soup, this is a good time to do it, to prevent spilling. Place your kettle in a slightly larger cardboard box. When you reach your destination, add additional water or broth to the desired consistency (about a quart of water), bring to a boil again and simmer until the lentils are tender, about an hour. Or finish cooking in a 6-quart slow cooker. Lentils may continue to swell as they finish cooking, so you may need to adjust water or broth further. Shortly before the soup is done, add diced scallion tops, if you are using them. Add salt and additional pepper to taste.

Quantity Cooking: If you double the recipe, you will have enough for an 8-quart stockpot to take to a potluck, with about 2 quarts to leave home for later. Mix all ingredients after adding 2 quarts water and the diced meat, then transfer some to a 3-quart saucepan. Transport the 8-quart stockpot before adding additional water or broth. Take diced scallions with you in a little baggie if you plan to use them. If you have a big enough pot with a heavy bottom, you can multiply this recipe further. You could also transport cold soup in big plastic pitchers.

Other recipes

From our friend Jana, a healthy recipe with lemon and greens. We might use escarole, Tyfon Holland Greens, mild Asian greens such as Tatsoi, or even kale in place of spinach.

Lemon and Lentil Soup
This soup is a great dish to prepare when you don’t have a lot of time; we use a food processor for all of the chopping which cuts the preparation time in half. Serve this soup over cooked brown jasmine or basmati rice. This soup also freezes well for later use.

Serves 4 to 6
1 small onion
5 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups red (or green) lentils, rinsed and drained
8 cups vegetable stock or water
4 to 5 cups baby spinach
1 small handful fresh parsley
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt or Herbamare

1. Peel and cut ends off of the onion and place into a food processor fitted with the “s” blade. Peel the garlic and place it into the food processor along with the onion. Pulse the onions and garlic until finely chopped.

2. Heat olive oil in a 6-quart pot. Add onions and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes or until soft.

3. Add the lentils and the vegetable both or water. Cover pot and simmer for about 25 minutes or until lentils are very soft and cooked through.

4. While the lentils are cooking, place the spinach and parsley into the food processor and pulse until minced.

5. Add minced parsley and spinach to the cooked lentils along with the lemon juice and sea salt. Simmer on low for another 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice if desired. Serve over cooked brown jasmine or brown basmati rice.

Recipe from pg 150 of The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook: The Recipes, by Alissa Setersten & Tom Malterre, MS, CN

Here's a recipe with lots of veggies, tomato paste and cumin.  It's vegetarian if you substitute water or vegetable broth for chicken broth. I would substitute lemon juice for the red wine or red wine vinegar, as I am allergic to the sulfites in wine. I might even add a little lemon zest.  I like lemon zest in spaghetti sauce.  Might also try it with basil in place of cumin.

Another recipe with a little fresh tomato, cumin, coriander and grains of paradise. Bet I would like it without the cumin, maybe with black pepper if I didn't have grains of paradise. Though maybe coriander and grains of paradise would go well together.

Here's one with chicken, kale and tomato. Have fun trying something a little different.