Yesterday was just cool enough in the morning to start thinking soup recipes. First I made a fresh carrot soup that ended up somewhat unexciting, so I froze it and headed back to the stove. I rummaged through my pantry supplies and pulled out the lentils - nothing fancy, just the inexpensive brown lentils from the supermarket. I LOVE lentil soup, and I can tell you this recipe beats the pants off Progresso Lentil.
Way back in my mind I remembered reading a post last winter on 101 cookbooks that combined lentils and kale (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/lively-up-yourself-lentil-soup-recipe.html) and thought - how brilliant to use kale rather than spinach! Spinach has a tendancy to fall to pieces during cooking, so kale is a far better green to use in this lentil soup.
Making the soup:
1 cup regular brown lentils
1 bay leaf
small amount hot pepper flakes or piece of hot pepper
sprig oregano or a shake of dried
Cover the lentils with water to spare ( by about 3 inches), add the herbs and hots, and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain. (this is supposed to keep the lentils from causing distress to your stomach)
Cover the drained lentils with half water, half chicken stock.
Add:
1 t. fresh oregano, or 1/2 t. dried
2 T. olive oil
1/2 t. dried thyme
1t. cumin
1 clove garlic, smushed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups canned plum tomatoes, cut into small pieces, plus juice
3 cups torn kale greens - discard the stems
2 t. red wine vinegar
Cook for another fifteen minutes, taste and add more salt and pepper, hot sauce or hot pepper flakes, cumin, and a little basil.
This freezes really well, so you might want to multiply the recipe for extras.
Have a great holiday weekend!
Tips for Your Kitchen Clean-up
ReplyDeleteKitchen is one of the busiest places at your home; you need to continue its cleanliness to build your family enjoy their meals, as well as for you while cooking. Below are some basic steps on how to clean your Kitchen Accessory
Have cleans for each task, such as for washing dishware and for wiping counters or other appliances like refrigerator and stoves.
For scrubbing your counter, or stove start with a mild cleanser (baking soda will do the work), then work up to stronger chemical varieties
Keep freshness by disposing expired items. However, while buying food at grocery store, consumers should look out for the expiration date particularly on perishable products like dairy products and vegetables. Some departmental stores, their vegetables packed in a plastic covers without any expiry dates printed on them
This soup looks so delicious. I'll give it a try when the weather cools down in a few weeks!
ReplyDelete(By the way, what's with the comment above mine?????)
GRRRRRRR. Michael, please do not visit again with your SPAM!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Barb! What you see above is SPAM, sorry to say. I'm still trying to find out how to delete comments - I opted not to go the screening route for comments, but I may have to.
ReplyDeleteThanks for swinging by to take a look at this delicious lentil soup! Still chilly in the early morning here, but warms up nicely as the day goes on.