Soup-er food – the gentle (yet mighty) lentil

In my most recent soup recipe post dated almost a year ago (for Minestrone, actually), I stated that it was going to be the last in my series of soup and stew recipes until I found another recipe I couldn’t resist. Good news (at least for me) – that finally happened.

If you’ve read any of my previous soup or stew posts here on Live from the Lizard Lounge, you know that my kitchen is in a constant state of homemade soup production. I take soup and a container of cantaloupe to work every day for lunch. It’s portable, filling, healthy, and can be easily eaten at my desk (cantaloupe is another super food). Since I finally perfected my current rotation of liquid nourishment varietals, it was time to extend my recipe repertoire and toss a couple of new players into the mix.

Today’s recipe features my newest star performer – the gentle lentil.

Pulse-ate

Lentils are actually a kind of pulse, a name referring to all sorts of legumes, such as beans (lima, pinto, navy) and other seed-like jobbies that grow in pods (like peas). I’ve been eating beans all my life and must say that “pulse” is a totally new term for me. But I was tickled to learn it because, just like Charlene, a character from the 80’s sitcom Designing Women once declared, “I love knowledge – in fact I yearn for it.”

I love that show. But I digress…

Just like garbanzo beans, which I discussed in an earlier post, lentils are ancient, with seeds dating as far back as 8000 years discovered at archeological sites in the Middle East. (The particular ones I’ve been cooking with, of course, aren’t that old. Although I’m not sure how one would determine the age of a lentil. They don’t come in the bag with little tiny birth certificates or anything.)

Lentils are one of the first cultivated foods. They also contributed to the downfall of Esau, grandson of Abraham in the Bible, who traded his rights as the firstborn son to his wily brother Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. Although this was a decision that ultimately benefitted Jacob much more than Esau (Jacob went on to become the father of all Jewish folk, the people chosen by God, and Esau, of course, did not), after my first bite of lentil soup, I could kind of understand the temptation.

Mini but Mighty

Although I could actually write an entire post on the nutritional value of lentils, I’ll just be content with a few sentences. Lentils lead the pack in protein, iron, and vitamin B1, while trailing far behind in fat (virtually none) and calories (hardly any).

But where this little nutritional gem really hits a home run is in the fiber department. A cup of lentils gives you 62% of the recommended daily value of fiber. Now, I know that fiber is probably one of the most unglamorous topics going (that, and the current presidential race), but if one has any sort of issues with cholesterol, one could not go wrong adding lentils to one’s diet.

Lentils are high in both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber forms a gel-like substance in the digestive tract that snags bile – which contains cholesterol – and ferries it out of the body. Insoluble fiber helps to increase stool bulk and prevent constipation.

OK – ewww… But who knew something that tastes so good could do such nasty but necessary work. Lentils are kind of like the trash pickup guys of the vegetable world.

So on to the good part – the recipe.

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Lentil Soup

the ingredients

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 c. finely chopped onion
• ½ c. finely chopped carrot
• ½ c. finely chopped celery
• 2 t. kosher salt
• 1 lb. lentils, picked and rinsed
• 1 – 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 2 qt. chicken or vegetable broth
• ½ t. ground coriander
• ½ t. ground cumin
• ¼ t. ground ginger
• ¼ t. ground pepper

the steps
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat (the vegetables, not you) until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes.

Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, and spices and stir to combine.

Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 min.

the thoughts

• Unlike beans, lentils don’t have to be soaked and cooked beforehand – you can toss them dry right into the pot.
• The original recipe I found called for “grains of paradise” for seasoning. Good luck finding that; and if you do, be prepared to sell a kidney to afford it. After scouring the web, I found several sites that vowed that one could substitute ground ginger and pepper and get virtually the same effect.
• Some recipes call for using a stick blender to purée the soup toward the end, but I love the hearty texture of it, so no puréeing for me.

So hang on to your birthright, grab a bag of lentils, and say hello to good health.

After all, 8000-year-old Middle Easterners can’t all be wrong.