Saturday, December 11, 2010

Papa's Simple Lentil Soup

Ahhh, a hot bowel of lentil soup. What could be better on a cold winter day than digging into a delicious bowl of lentil soup?
Actually, when it's cold and wintery outside, my wife always says, "This is good weather for soup." And I always say, "Any weather is good for soup." Soup does not have to be relegated to wintery days to be good. I can enjoy a bowl of this delicious soup on any day...and so can you.

Lentil Soup

This soup is easy to make, so why not give it a try?
8 SERVINGS
2 quarts water
1-1/2 cups brown lintel beans
1. Put the water and beans in the pressure cooker. Bring the soup to pressure and cook it for 7 minutes. Release the pressure in the cooker and remove the lid. You don't have to use a pressure cooker, but it's a lot faster than the conventional soup pot. If you use a regular pot, let it cook until the beans are tender.
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1-1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoons fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 lemon, juice of
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2. Add the above ingredients to the pot and cook them under pressure for 8 minutes more, or use a regular pot and cook the ingredients until the onions are translucent and tender.
3 ounces lean ground beef or turkey, browned well in extra virgin olive oil
3. Remove the lid from the cooker and add the browned meat with it's juices to the pot. Also add more water or a can of chicken broth to the soup if needed to make it brothy enough. Enjoy your soup while it is still hot.
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