Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

Still feeling like I had the plague, I decided on a quick delicious soup for lunch.



















This soup is loosely based on this recipe from Melissa Clark in the NY Times. I say loosely, because I didn't stick to the quantities, omitted the cilantro, and added some crushed coriander seed.

For the carrots, I used my veggie peeler to get thin strips, then chopped those up. That's probably the best idea I've ever had for soup - no matter how small you dice carrots, you always get chunks of carrot. The peel and chop method worked perfectly, giving the carrots the same consistency as the lentils. (Definitely use red lentils, also called masoor dal, any other kind won't break down enough.)
















Since all the veggies were really small already, I didn't use a blender (immersion or otherwise), just mashed with a spoon until it was slightly thicker.

If you haven't tried lemon juice in soup - not just lentil, it works in chicken too, and would probably work in a beans & greens soup - I strongly urge you to go out and buy a lemon.

Braised Greens and Lentils

Susan over at The Well-Seasoned Cook is hosting a second helping of My Legume Love Affair. Since I most definitely love legumes, especially lentils, I had to join in. It's still really warm here (87 today), so I was originally thinking salad. But when I saw the beautiful kale and mustard greens at the market, I couldn't help but change my mind, and go with a braised greens and lentils dish.


















I got the idea from Michel Richard's Collard Greens and Lentils, posted by Luisa at The Wednesday Chef. I figured since the oven was set only at 250, it wouldn't heat up the kitchen too much.

I replaced the collard greens in the original recipe with 1 bunch each of kale and mustard greens. I also added a minced garlic clove, and drastically reduced the balsamic vinegar down to only 1 teaspoon. And added a ton of black pepper.

You could easily make this vegetarian/vegan by using veggie broth and omitting the bacon. In fact, I'm not sure the bacon added anything essential, so I may just do that next time. Or, you could do a 180, and make it less vegetarian by adding chopped boiled smoked hamhock.

This turned out amazing - chewy lentils, slightly bitter greens, some acidity from the vinegar - in a word, spectacular (although not terribly photogenic!).