Monday, April 7, 2008

Lentil Soup

I tried to make this lentil soup that my friend made for me once. I swear it was good when she made it but I was not so lucky. I don't know what I did wrong, but I will probably at least give it another try. I know I put too much soy sauce because it ended up super salty. It has coconut milk in it which I love but it turned out you couldn't even taste it really.
Anyone have any thoughts on lentils?
This was the recipe:

Lentil, Coconut, and Wilted Spinach Soup
150g/5¼oz puy lentils
1 litre/1 pint 15oz vegetable stock
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
100g/3½oz creamed coconut, chopped and dissolved in 150ml/5¼fl oz boiling water or 250ml/8¾fl oz canned coconut milk
2-3 tbsp dark soy sauce
4 small handfuls baby spinach (about 50g/1¾oz)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Rinse the lentils, then put in a large saucepan and add enough cold water just to cover.
2. Boil for 10 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients, except the spinach.
3. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
4. Put a small handful of the spinach in four warmed bowls and ladle the hot soup on top. The heat from the soup will wilt the leaves.
5. Serve with warm flatbread, such as pitta or naan.

2 comments:

Sarah! said...

I really like lentils but it wasn't until recently (and J's cooking) that I really got into it. I like yellow lentils best so far, and curried lentils are really good. I'll have to check and see if I posted my recipe for curried lentils on here.

Sarah! said...

Oh, you know, after reading your post again, it occurred to me that you didn't soak your lentils. That's usually a good thing to do at least 1/2 hour before you cook them. Was the texture of the lentils soft or still a little crunchy?