Winter Lentils

In a pinch to do something different for dinner last night, I scoured my favorite food blogs for something easy, nutritious and didn’t involve stir-fry. Stay at Stove Dad came to the rescue with a delicious red lentil soup. It’s lemony, gingery and has cinnamon hints and a touch of spice. I actually got a little nervous about the soup being too cinnamony and lemony and took out the stick and lemon halfs midway through the boiling time. The whole thing took just about 15 minutes to prep (mainly because our spice cabinet has no rhyme or reason to it) and then I just let it bubble away, stirring occasionally, while I reorganized my closet. By the time Erik got home the soup was done and ready to eat. Go to the original blog post or see below for the copy+paste.

Red Lentil Dhal

Olive oil
1 onion quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
2 bay leaves
One 2 inch or so cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons (or more) of minced fresh ginger
3 cloves of garlic
1 dash of cayenne pepper
2 cups small red lentils, about a pound, rinsed
1 lemon, halved and juiced (seeds removed)
3 or 4 cups of chicken stock
3 or 4 cups of hot water
1 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a heavy sauce pan
Add the onion, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick
Saute until the onions are translucent
Add the garlic and the ginger and the cayenne
Continue cooking another few minutes
Add the lentils and stir to coat them with oil
Add the chicken stock and the water
Add the lemon juice and the squeezed halves of the fruit
Add the salt
Bring to a boil
Reduce to a simmer
Cook for about a half hour, until the onions mostly break up and the lentils more or less dissolve. If it looks like it needs more water, add some.