This is part soup part stew. It’s beyond comforting and tasty.
And convenient.
“But don’t you have to soak the lentils?”
People often ask this and the answer is “you can, but you don’t have to.” It’s about improving digestibility. The bigger the bean the greater the need for soaking. Chick peas yes. Kidney beans absolutely. Lentils, not so much unless they make you fart.
I don’t soak mine. But I do wash them well.
Lentils + quinoa = protein & iron
Turkish Lentil Soup
Ingredients
1 C organic brown lentils
5 C vegetable stock/water
Extra stock or oil for sauteeing
2 C onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
¼ tsp cayenne
2 bay leaves
½ C red quinoa
¼ C chopped parsley
2 C tomatoes, chopped
¼ C tomato paste
1 Tbl fresh rosemary, minced (½ tsp dry)
Baby spinach leaves
Method
1. Rinse the lentils. Bring them to boil in salted stock or water. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 40 minutes or until cooked.
2. Steam sauté onions until translucent in ½ cup of water/stock
(or saute as usual in oil). Add garlic, cayenne, bay leaves and quinoa. Stir the mixture until the onions and quinoa give up their liquid and brown.
3. Add parsley and tomatoes. Bring to simmer and stir in tomato paste.
4. Mix in the lentils and their liquid. Simmer 15 mins.
5. Add rosemary, salt and pepper to taste.
6. Stir in more stock/tomato juice/water as needed.
7. Wilt in baby spinach leaves.
Serve with a dollop of cashew cream and garnish with fresh parsley.
Variations: Swap the quinoa with bulghur wheat – this works super well. Add black olives, more garlic, more rosemary …
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For another tasty mid winter stew try this spicy cabbage and kumara hotpot
