Just made lentil soup w/dried apricots, onion, garlic, red pep. Yum.

[henslee]

[Cobalt Violet]

1. That sounds great.

:9 Do you have a recipe?

I'm going to make some with an Indian recipe I have. It has
tomatoes, ginger, onion, garlic, lemon juice and spices.:9

[henslee]

5. Posted recipe at bottom of this thread.... nt

[saltpoint]

2. It does sound good.

All 61,494 of us will be right over.

[maveric]

3. That sounds so damn good right now!

I've had this cold that has been kicking my ass.

Did I tell you that I LOVE Lentil soup??

[henslee]

4. Here's the recipe! Super easy and quick.

LENTIL SOUP WITH A HINT OF FRUIT

The fruit that's doing the hinting here is the humble dried apricot, which might seem bizzarre at first glance, and even at second glance. But something subtle and magical happens when the apricot flavor modestly blends into the soup. Try this easy, intensely-seasoned, oil-free winner, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

2 cups red or brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
8 cups water (maybe more)
2 cups minced onion
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup minced dried apricots
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
3 to 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (or, to taste)
Black pepper and cayenne to taste

OPTIONAL GARNISHES:
Extra slivers of dried apricot
A drizzle of yogurt
A sprig or two of cilantro or parsley


Place the lentils and water in a soup pot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the onion, cumin, and mustard, and continue to simmer, covered, until the lentils are very soft (about 15 more minutes). Add small amounts of additional water, if it seems too thick.
Add the garlic, apricots, and salt, cover, and let sit for another 15 minutes or so. Stir in the vinegar, black pepper, and cayenne to taste (and correct the salt too, if necessary). At this point the soup will keep for several days.
Heat gently just before serving, and serve hot, topped with a few slivers of dried apricot, a drizzle of yogurt, and a sprig of cilantro or parsley, if desired.


***********************************************************************

[henslee]

6. Only I cooked it until apricots pracitcally disinergarted and lentils were

a lot mushier. I also used an extra half tablespoon of garlic. Had no red pepper, went with just the black. Had to add water twice. Ended up with a nice light broth with a hint of both sweet and sour.

[Bullwinkle925]

7. Sounds delish!

I'll be making this soon. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

[0007]

8. Sounds so good, I bet that would go great with steamed rice.

[henslee]

9. Sure We had it w/slab of peasant bread. Absolutely no fat in soup either.

Anyone with a special diets (no fat/ no meat, etc.) can eat it. If you leave the salt out, it'll even satisfy the sal restricted. Others can salt later.

[SmokingJacket]

10. Sounds so great!

I love lentil soup but its aggressive blandness gets to you after a bit.

For some reason I never thought to add more interesting ingredients.

The Lounge! I learn all about cooking and interesting diseases!

[Individualist]

11. I made dessert

raspberry cake with cream cheese frosting.

[henslee]

12. yu-uum.