Red Lentil Day

In these dark days between bright holiday feasts, it's good to feed the body wisely and well: light but hearty and nutritious. So here are three versions of a beloved Middle Eastern comfort food: red lentil soup. They are all super easy to make and very tasty. You can serve them with warm whole wheat pita.
To flesh out a meal, serve with a side of arugula and date salad, a recipe posted earlier on this blog, and then bring on crisp apples and a platter of cheeses. You'll be thankful.

It's good to remember that there are hundreds of versions of this sort of soup, so you don't have to stay enslaved to the exact recipe. You can be as creative as all the cooks who came before you and made red lentil soup.

Palestinian Shorabit Adas
This version uses squash, either yellow, chayote, pattypan or zucchini, the original idea being a way to use up the pulp that got scooped out when the popular stuffed squash was made.

Serves 4 -5

1 1/2 cup split red lentils (sometimes called Masoor Dhal)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 med/lg yellow onion, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, flattened and roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 lg carrots, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 med squash (see above), diced
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/2-1 tsp chili depending on your taste
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
pinch ground cayenne or aleppo pepper
1/2 c chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 cups water

In a medium soup pot,  sauté onions in olive oil until soft and golden, maybe 5 minutes.
Add garlic and cumin seed. Sauté another 60 seconds. Add celery, carrots, squash and chili. Stir to blend. Continue to sauté 5 minutes to soften veggies.

Add lentils, all spices, parsley, broth and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, partially cover leaving a little escape hatch for steam, and cook 30 minutes. Stir in salt and ground cayenne or aleppo pepper. Turn off heat and let soup sit 5 minutes.

Puree soup. Check for salt. If it is too thick for your taste, thin with warm water or broth. Serve in bowls. Optional: swirl a tsp of thick yogurt through soup and sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro or flat leaf parsley.

Turkish Red Lentil Soup

Serves 4-6

3 tbsp olive oil

1 lg onion, diced

2 lg garlic cloves, minced

1 fresh red chili, seeded and minced

1/8 tsp ground chili powder

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp ground coriander

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 tsp fenugreek (seeds or ground?)

1 tsp celery seeds

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 ¼ cup split red lentils

5 cups vegetable stock and water

½ tsp freshly ground or cracked black pepper

½ tsp salt or more to your taste

for garnish

 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped

 1 bunch flat leaf parsley leaves only, chopped

 juice of ½ fresh lemon (or lemon wedges for each bowl)

In a heavy gauge medium size lidded casserole or other such pan, heat oil over medium. Add onion, garlic, chili, chili powder, cumin seed and ground coriander, stirring to blend. Sauté over medium heat until onion is soft, 3-5 minutes. 

Add carrot and cook another 2 minutes. Add fenugreek, celery seeds and tomato paste, pepper and salt. Stir in the lentils, blending everything.

Pour in the stock and water in any combination you prefer. Bring to a boil.

Immediately cut heat to low, partially cover the pot and simmer 35-40 minutes.

The lentils should now be mushy and the soup thick.

Serve garnished with chopped scallions and parsley and lemon juice or wedges.

If you prefer a smooth soup, puree before garnishing.

 Syrian Red Lentil Soup

This is a very old traditional recipe from the Syrian Jews who inhabited Aleppo from 600 BCE until the pogroms of 1947.

2-½ C red lentils
1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced
1 tbsp ground coriander seed
½ tsp ground cumin
1-½ tbsp olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
2 quarts of water
Clantro, fresh and coarsely chopped
Red pepper flakes

Rinse and drain lentils thoroughly 2 times.
Place lentils in pot with water and bring to a boil; then simmer for approximately 40 minutes, stirring
occasionally to prevent lentils from sticking to the bottom.

Mash coriander, garlic, and cumin into a paste.

Heat oil in frying pan and lower to medium heat. Fry the paste for approximately 30 seconds on each side being careful not to burn it.
Add fried paste to the lentils.

At the completion of simmering time, you can decide if you want the soup thinner. If so, add additional water.
Garnish with cilantro and pepper flakes.