Jan
Maggie’s Lentil Soup
It’s a cold night and Alex and I both wanted something hot. Even though the fridge was fairly full, I was in the mood for soup and couldn’t find the ingredients I wanted, namely carrots and maybe celery. Definitely carrots, though. Unfortunately, I’d just taken the last two for a pot roast I’d done the night before. Hmmm. Now what?
I looked in the fridge and pulled out items that would work in lentil soup and carrots be damned. I took some onions, some garlic and a package of spinach, which taste very good with lentils. I also pondered the use of lemon, to give it a tang.
The soup turned out wonderfully (I never used the lemon with this one, though). The lentils retained their shape and the broth was flavorful. In fact, you could actually taste the onions and garlic in the broth and that, added to the flavor donated by the lentils, made for a lovely dinner.
I at the soup with Trader Joe’s whole grain crackers, which I love. Alex decided to make himself a smoked turkey sandwich to accompany the soup. Overall, it was a top rated meal and an extremely easy one to boot.
So, the next time you’re hungry but don’t want to fuss with long recipes, try this soup:
Maggie’s Lentil Soup
Great for a cold Boston evening!
4 - 6 tbs olive oil (not virgin, or it’ll burn)
One large or two small onions, chopped
Two cloves of garlic, chopped medium-fine
8 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of lentils, rinsed and drained
Two good fistfuls of spinach
Salt and pepper, to taste
Heat olive oil in dutch oven. When oil is hot, add onions and garlic. They’ll start to sweat, that is, they’ll begin to shed water and become a bit more limp and glistening. Saute onions and garlic until they’re starting to get brown, but not all the way there. Add the water, then the lentils. Stir, then add a few grinds of fresh peppercorns. You can use black peppercorns, or mix it up with black, white and pink peppercorns. Both ways are fine. Hold off on the salt until the lentils are cooked, or they’ll get tough.
Put the soup on a low boil and let it cook for about 30 minutes. Then add the washed, chopped spinach and stir to incorporate. Cover and continue to cook on a low boil for another 10 minutes. Add salt to taste and you’re finished. I used a scant 2 teaspoons total and that was fine.
A cold day and a hearty yet light meal. Add bread or crackers for the perfect dinner!
