Monday, October 20, 2008

Middle Eastern Style Lentil Soup with Greens

This is what I did yesterday with part of the cilantro bunch I saved out to use fresh, along with chard from the garden, which has survived the last new nights' frost just fine. This is a quick and easy recipe.

1 cup dried brown lentils
½ cup dried quinoa
7-8 cups water
8-10 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 Tbsp ground cumin
2 veggie bouillon cubes
4-5 cups coarsely chopped chard (leaves only)
1 – 1 ½ cups chopped fresh cilantro, loosely packed
¼ cup lemon juice
1-2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the lentils and quinoa in a soup pot with about 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.

Add the garlic and onions to the pot. Add the cumin and bouillon cubes. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the onions and garlic are very tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the chard, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. If needed, add more water to reach the desired consistency. Simmer until the greens are tender, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

Serves about 4.

1 comment:

Kathleen said...

After loving the squash pancakes last weekend, I made this last night. I omitted the onion (I know, some would say blasphemy, but I really hate them) and did the chard on the side bc we are obsessed with greens sauteed with garlic and golden raisins lately. Anyway we loved the soup, and had it topped with a scoop of the greens, a dollop of plain yogurt, mango chutney and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds. Yum! Thanks! (ps. Eve is a big fan of the liberal use of garlic and cilantro in your recipes).