- Lentil Soup
- -Lentils are an edible legume, historically eaten in Mediterranian cultures, and later spreading to India and throughout Europe. A lentil soup recipe can be found in De Re Coquinaria, a Latin cookbook thought to be compiled around the end of the Roman Empire in the West, perhaps suggesting that lentil soups have been eaten for millenia.
- -This recipe uses red lentils, which are supposed to be best for soups. They get sort of mushy as they cook, thickening up the soup. Goes well in bread bowls.
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- Ingredients
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- 3/2 cup red lentils (rinsed and drained) -
- 1 cup diced meat (pancetta, bacon, sausage) -
- 14.5 oz crushed tomatoes -
- 1 yellow onion (diced) -
- 1 shallot (diced) (optional) -
- 1 jalapeño/serrano pepper (minced) -
- 3 cloves of garlic (minced) -
- 2 tbs tomato paste -
- 6 cups chicken broth (low salt preferred) -
- 1 tsp cumin (ground) -
- 1/2 tsp corriander seeds (ground) -
- 1/2 tsp salt -
- black pepper (ground) -
- corriander leaves (fresh) -
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- Instructions
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- Cook the meat in a large pot over medium heat, until crisp and the fat has been rendered. (~10 min) -
- Add the onion, shallot, and diced pepper, add salt, and sweat them till soft and translucent. (~5 min) -
- Add the garlic and cook briefly until fragrant. (1 min) -
- Add the tomato paste, cumin, and ground corriander, and cook while stirring. (1-2 min) -
- Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, lentils, and a pinch of salt, stir and boil briefly. (2-3 min) -
- Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils are tender. (~20 min) -
- Uncover pot, and cook while stirring, breaking down the lentils to thicken the soup. (10-15 min) -
- Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve in bowl dishes, or bread bowls. Top with corriander leaves. -