Y'all know I like to make soup. It's usually pretty easy, it makes a lot, and it's one of the few categories of food I am more than willing to eat more than once. I had been feeling in a bit of a soup rut so when I saw Molly Wizenberg's recipe for Curried Lentil Soup in Bon Appetit, I decided to give a try. Most of the ingredients are pretty standard fare around our apartment--garlic, chickpeas, lemon, curry. The one exception? Lentils. I don't have much experience with lentils. I can probably count the number of times I've eaten them on one hand, not to mention cooked with them. But my inexperience made the recipe all the more intriguing.
Unfortunately, it also most likely led to the dish being only so-so.
Because I am not familiar with lentils, I followed the recipe to the letter. It said to cook the soup's base (which included the lentils) for 30 minutes or until the lentils were tender. The problem was I didn't know exactly what that meant. Just how tender were the lentils supposed to be? Somewhere between hard and mush was my guess....but that didn't help too much. I tried turning to Google for help, but that wasn't of much help either. So after 30 minutes I called it a day. The result? More al dente than tender. The soup still tasted good, don't get me wrong, but the texture just didn't seem quite right. I should have cooked them longer. Which is what I will do the next time I make this. That, or pre-soak the lentils before adding them into the soup (which is apparently a trick to quick-cooking lentils). Despite the firm lentils, it was still a warm and hearty meal that is sure to satisfy.
Curried Lentil Soup
From Molly Wizenberg
Ingredients:
3 TBL olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrott, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 TBL curry powder
1 cup French green lentils
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 lemon
2 TBL butter
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1. Heat 1 TBL of olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring occassionally, about 4 minutes.
2. Add half of choppsed garlic. Stir until vegetables are soft but not brown, about 4 minutes longer.
3. Add curry powder, stir until fragrant (about 1 minute).
4. Add lentils and 4 cups of water. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender (30 minutes or longer).
5. Meanwhile, puree chickpeas, juice from half the lemon, 1/4 cup water, remaining olive oil and garlic in food processor or blender.
6. When lentils are tender, add chickpea puree and butter to soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper and additional lemon juice. If the soup is too thick, you can thin it out with water until you reach the desired consistency. Serve with fresh green onion on top.
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