Recently, I found myself with a bag of lentils and a dream. Or something like that. Maybe it was just a bag of lentils, a craving for soup and memories of the awesome chicken tagine of last month. So I kind of combined the two for something I like to call Lentil Soup #22 (or Moroccan-Style Lentil Soup). I’ve posted lentil soups before, but this is way different.

I used Spanish lentils for this (they hold their shape really well) but any brown lentil will work fine. So would red or green, probably.

Lentil Soup #22 (or Moroccan-Style Lentil Soup)
Adapted from a recipe by ME!
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp sun dried tomato paste
1 cinnamon stick
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/4 cups brown lentils
1 handful cilantro, chopped
Optional: 1/2 tsp Rogan Josh seasoning
Garnishes: more cilantro and yogurt

Heat the olive oil in a big soup pot. Add the onion and garlic and saute over medium, until a little golden and soft, 8-10 minutes.

Next comes the paprika, cumin, tomato paste and Rogan Josh seasoning, if using. Stir and cook about another two minutes.

Add the cinnamon stick, broth, diced tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Combine the lentils into the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, about an hour. Taste and adjust seasonings and salt and pepper to taste. Add the chopped cilantro and serve.

Garnish with more cilantro and yogurt.

***

In bread news, I made the Pecan, Raisin & Anise Baguettes which turned out well and then last weekend I made another French Round. I let the starter go for 16 hours, I used Morton Kosher Salt (saltier!) and spritzed with water. It made all the difference! So good! nom nom nom nom

We had this meal over New Year’s Weekend because I believe lentils are lucky to have around that time. Of course, I opted to not use lentils because I had some Christmas Lima Beans that I needed to use. I hope Christmas Lima Beans are still lucky. I soaked my beans for about 8 hours before I used them in the recipe, so make sure you do that if you are using larger dried beans. You could also just use lentils, like the original recipe calls for and skip the soaking all together. I think that’s what I’ll do next time.

That said, this meal was fantastic! The tomato salsa is really fragrant and good and I have discovered Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage at Trader Joe’s. Wow — it was so tasty in this. Feel free to use the sausage of your choice — chicken, turkey or traditional pork sausage. Note: If your sausage is not raw, I would just cook briefly in the pan, not bake in the oven too.

This will feed a lot, so invite people over or have lunches and dinners for the week to look forward too.

Sausages and Legumes with Tomato Salsa
Adapted from a recipe in Jamie’s Italy
8 medium-sized good-quality Italian sausages (my package of chicken Italian sausage only had 5, so that’s how many I used)
Olive oil
1 pound broccoli florets
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A small handful of chopped thyme

For the tomato salsa
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 small stick of cinnamon
1-2 small dried red chilies, crumbled
2 tbsp red wine vinegar, plus extra for dressing
2 (14 ounce) cans of good-quality plum tomatoes (I used Italian stewed tomatoes)

For the lentils (or beans)
14 ounces lenticchie di Castelluccio or Puy lentils (or the equivalent in pre-soaked beans)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
A handful of fresh flat–leaf parsley, leaves chopped, stems reserved
Red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

Start the salsa: Heat the olive oil in a pan, then add the onion and sliced garlic, cinnamon stick and a the chili, saute on a gentle heat for 10 minutes, until the onions are soft. Turn the heat up and add your red wine vinegar — stand back.

Then turn the heat down to low and add the canned tomatoes. Break them up with a wooden spoon and simmer while you work on the rest of the meal.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the beans into a pot, cover them with water, and add the 2 whole cloves of garlic, the bay leaf, and some tied-up stems from the parsley. Simmer for around 20 minutes for lentils, up to an hour for larger beans. Make sure that you’ve got enough liquid covering the lentils or beans.

Toss the sausages in a little olive oil and sear them in a pan, then put them in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden and crisp. It helps if the pan you seared them in is oven safe.

Toss your broccoli in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and add it to the oven too, roasting for about 15-20 minutes. When done, toss in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice and some extra virgin olive oil.

Once the lentils or beans are cooked, remove the parsley stems and bay leaf and pour away most of the water from the pot. Mash the garlic cloves up with a spoon, mix in with the lentils or lentils, and dress them using 4 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil and 1 or 2 tablespoons of good vinegar. Throw in all your finely chopped parsley leaves, mix, and season.

Remove the sausages from the pan and pour away any fat. Transfer lentils or beans into your serving bowl. Remove the cinnamon stick from the salsa and discard it, then season well to taste and spoon it over your lentils or beans. Place the sausages, either sliced or whole, on top. Sprinkle with the thyme or parsley and serve with a big bowl of the roasted broccoli.

Starting this meal off? A killer antipasto platter I put together with — roasted red pepper, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted garlic, olives, prosciutto, mole salami, marinated mushrooms and aged provolone.

This is a great recipe in which to use some of that turkey stock you just made. Or, of course, chicken stock works well too. Vegetable stock/broth probably too. This is not completely authentic, I’m sure. I’ve added tomatoes and tweaked the ingredients to my liking. Such as: I prefer this very garlicky and thick but you can adapt that to your needs. It can be stew-like or soup like. You can prepare it dressed like a reindeer. The choices are endless.

I also used a mix of spinach and wheat rigatoni, making it more like a healthy pasta dish with a chickpea sauce. That is just my way.

Instead of using a potato masher, you can also take about half the chickpeas out, use a blender on the remaining chickpeas/stock/veggies and then add the reserved whole chickpeas back into the pan when you add the pasta.

I halved the original recipe which fed four, so below, should feed two.

Okay, let’s do this!

Pasta e Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)
Adpated from the Splendid Table, who in turn, adapted it from Jamie Oliver — the original recipe is in Jamie’s Italy. It is, I checked!
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
A sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
1 14-oz. cans of chickpeas
2 cups of chicken stock
Optional: a piece of Parmesan rind
3/4 cup dried ditalini or other small Italian “soup” pasta
handful of cherry tomatoes halved or quartered, depending on size
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Optional 2: a small handful of fresh basil or parsley, leaves picked and torn, or more rosemary for garnish…and grated Parmesan cheese

Put the finely chopped onion, cherry tomatoes, and garlic into a saucepan with a little extra virgin olive oil and the rosemary and cook on low, with the lid on, for about 15-20 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft, without any color. Stir a couple of times to make sure nothing is getting to dark. The first time I did this, I put it on low, walked away and came back 20 minutes to burnt garlic and rosemary.

Drain your chickpeas well and rinse them in cold water, then add them to the pan and cover with the stock. If you have one (and I do, just for these types of occasions), put a small piece of Parmesan — or any hard italian cheese — rind in there and let it simmer. Cook gently for half an hour and then, use a potato masher to mash the chickpeas up a bit.

Season the soup with salt and pepper, and add the pasta. Simmer gently until the pasta is cooked. And discard your rind if you have it in there. It’s job is done

At this point, if the soup is a little thick, pour in some more chicken stock to thin it down, and add more salt and pepper if needed. Oh, why not, throw in a little grated Parmesan right now.

Serve drizzled with good-quality extra virgin olive oil and some torn basil if you have any. I did not.

I threw a rosemary piece on top for garnish.

It was Fall here in Portland…for about a weekend. Really! It was cold and we had a high of only 60 degrees F and quite honestly I loved it. Now, we are back to the sunny and the 80’s nonsense but when it was nice and Fall-like, I made this soup. It was delicious!

Instead of kielbasa, I used that age-old tradition of going through the freezer, seeing what was in there, and using that. It was sweet Italian sausage (2) and some chorizo (1) the uncooked kind, so I thawed it all and browned that up first. You can also use cooked kielbasa (what the original recipe called for) or even Spanish chorizo. I am thinking about giving that a try next time.

Let’s see, I also added some harissa (because I had some) and I opted to add both some red wine and red wine vinegar. You could also just pick one and use two tablespoons of whichever one you choose.

Green Lentil & Sausage Soup
Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten, in the cookbook, Barefoot in Paris
1 pound French green lentils (recommended: du Puy)
2 tbsp cup olive oil, plus extra for serving
4 cups diced yellow onions (3 large)
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (2 leeks)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
3 cups medium diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots)
3 quarts Chicken Stock, homemade or good quality store bought
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tbsp harissa
1/2 pound kielbasa, cut in 1/2 lengthwise and sliced 1/3-inch thick, or 2-3 sausages (raw), removed from casings
2 tbsp dry red wine
Optional: 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Freshly grated Parmesan, more olive oil and chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

If you are using uncooked Italian sausage, brown it in a large stock pot in the olive oil. When it is done, remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside. Return pot to heat and add more olive oil if needed, then saute the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender.

Add the carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Add the drained lentils, tomato paste, harissa, chicken stock and cover, and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 - 1.5 hours, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings.

Add the cooked sausage or the kielbasa and red wine and simmer until the sausage is heated through. If using, add the vinegar before serving.

Serve drizzled with olive oil, some shaved Parmesan and cilantro leaves.

I made this the other night based on what I had in the fridge, freezer and assorted cabinets. Two cans of black beans? Check. Actually, I have five cans of black beans in the cabinet. Every time I go to the store, I can’t remember if I have black beans, so I buy another can. *sigh*

Anyway, to continue, a bag in the freezer of about 1 cup fire-roasted, diced tomatoes? Check. Jalapeno that I really need to use…? Well, you get the idea. For a things-I-need-to-use-in-the-kitchen project, it turned out really tasty!

Pretty Good Black Bean Soup
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
3 slices Canadian bacon, diced (you can skip this, or substitute sausage, bacon, some other kind of pork product, etc…)
1 small white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup fire-roasted, diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 jalapeno, roasted, peeled & diced
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
juice of 1/2 an orange
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

Toast the cumin seeds in a small pan over medium heat. Just for a minute or two. Then, grind them in a spice or coffee grinder (a dedicated spice coffee grinder or a coffee grinder that you can wash the top part of). Set aside.

Heat a soup pot over medium heat and add the Canadian bacon. Cook for a few minutes and then add the onion and garlic. Cook it all for 6-7 minutes until starting to color and soft. Add the ground cumin, dried oregano, roasted jalapeno* and fire-roasted tomatoes. Stir to combine.

Next, drain one can of beans and add that. Rinse the other can and drain, then add that. I did this to get some of the salt from the canned beans out of the soup, but I still wanted a little bit of the canned stuff so that’s why I did it this way. You can rinse and drain both or not, whatever you want to do.

Add the stock next, as well as the orange juice and bring to a boil, Reduce and simmer for 30-60 minutes. I had time so I just simmered it for 60 minutes. If you want a thicker soup, use an immersion blender or a regular blender to break up some of the beans. Before serving, add most of the cilantro (saving some for a garnish) and add salt and pepper to taste.

You can also garnish with sour cream, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, etc…

* To roast a jalapeno, put it under the broiler, turning as needed, until it is all black. Put it in a small paper or plastic bag to steam for about 5 minutes. Then, you should be able to peel the blackened skin off easily. Cut the stem off, slice in half nd remove most the seeds ant the ribs. Dice.