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.
Ingredients
- 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)
Instructions
- 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.