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By mlb, on March 15th, 2013%
Hello French Fridays with Dorie and this week’s Orange Scented Lentil Soup recipe. How are you? Well, I thought you were delicious!
I tend to have the opinion that, although lentil soups are in standard rotation at our house, they can be kind of boring. But not this bowl — the orange and spices are definitely different flavors than I normally go with and I think that really made this recipe a huge stand out.
Of course, I did a few things differently. I had about a cup of lamb braising sauce (sorry, Morrissey!*) leftover from the lamb shank adventure last weekend and I substituted that for about one cup of the broth (the miracle of lamb fat).
Other changes: I let my vegetables get a little brown in the beginning for more flavor. I also added some chopped kale at the end and I used red lentils instead of French green lentils. Because of that, I was able to shorten my simmering time by about 15 minutes. For garnishes I used the suggested crumbled bacon (oops!) and Greek yogurt. So good.
Here’s a link to everyone’s Orange Scented Lentil Soup this . . . → Read More: FFwD: Orange Scented Lentil Soup
By mlb, on March 10th, 2013%
Over the next couple of days I’m going to be posting two ideas for St. Patrick’s Day meals and this first one uses two very Irish ingredients — Guinness stout and lamb. It does take awhile to cook but the reward is worth it.
Of course, there’s also the challenge of finding a pot big enough to fit the lamb shanks in (usually my downfall), which is definitely tricky, but again, very much worth it in the end. If you have leftover braising sauce (and you probably will), it’s great used in lentil soup. Just thin with a little more chicken broth and cook your lentils in it. Mmmmm….lamb-y.
On the side — Polenta & Cabbage: This is sort of a colcannon-type dish but with polenta instead of potatoes. Just cook up a batch of polenta like usual (one part polenta whisked into four parts boiling liquid), and when it’s almost done, saute some sliced cabbage in separate pan, using about a tablespoon of butter. Add salt and pepper and let it get a little golden in places. Add the cooked cabbage and butter to the polenta and stir in . . . → Read More: Guinness Braised Lamb Shanks for St. Patrick’s Day
By mlb, on March 6th, 2013%
This is a hearty bowl of soup. Spelt replaces the pasta for a healthy, toothsome addition. Sometimes referred to as spelt berries, they aren’t berries at all, but rather Spelt is an ancient whole grain related to modern day wheat. It’s high in magnesium, fiber, phosphorus and vitamin B3 and provides a pleasingly chewey texturehsome chew. Use it in salads, soups, and baked good. It can also be ground and used as flour. In fact, my new bread obsession is the Spelt Bread from Dave’s Killer Bread.
This is also the bowl of soup you want whether you are house-bound right now in the snowy Midwest, DC or even watching the rain fall in the gray winter of Portland. So comforting and filling. You probably even have a lot of the items you need to make it right now. Just go get some spelt. It’s okay, I’ll wait.
Note: for a summer version, replace butternut squash with zucchini and the kale with trimmed green beans and/or baby spinach and add in the last 15 minutes of cooking time.
![]() . . . → Read More: A Soup for Cold Weather: Winter Spelt Minestrone
By mlb, on February 26th, 2013%
This is a great meatless meal for when you have winter squash you want to use up or if you just want a hearty bowl of warm soup. Or maybe you’re just bored and you want a food project that will take about an hour. This is what to do if any of those scenarios are true. Plus, it’s just a really delicious bowl of winter soup. So there.
I used a combination of one small acorn squash and one small delicata squash — together they totaled about 1.5 pounds. There’s actually a story behind the squash: I received them (and about 6 more pounds of produce) as part of my kickstarter reward for being a backer of Know Thy Food’s new market! That’s pretty cool, huh?
Red lentils will look nicer, but if all you have is brown lentils, don’t let that stop you from making this. And if you have some naan in the freezer, take this opportunity to toast that up and have it on the side.
If you are a cilantro-hater, you can substitute with parsley.
 . . . → Read More: Curry Lentil and Squash Soup with Cilantro Yogurt
By mlb, on February 20th, 2013%
So, what is the best way to follow a Meatless Monday post? Why a big, meaty one of course! Even jwa, who is not a huge fan of meatloaf was on board with this meal. Danish Meatloaf…who knew? The bacon gets nice and crispy in places and helps keep the meat all moist (the cream helps that too, actually), and there’s lingonberry jelly in the gravy giving it that extra-Nordic flair.
Originally, the recipe said that this serves 8 but I just don’t see how that is at all possible (and it’s not like I’m all Ron Swanson or anything) — we got about four servings, dinner and lunches the next day.
On the side I made some braised greens and we split a Hasselback Potato (just one! sensible!), kind of following this recipe from Nigella, but adding some smoked paprika and Parmesan cheese (and baking at 400 degrees F). That’s something I’ve always wanted to try, ever since seeing what seems like a million photos of this potato dish on Pinterest. The verdict is that I’ll most definitely make this again. The meatloaf as well. Such a delicious, cold-weather appropriate, Scandinavian meal. You . . . → Read More: Danish Meatloaf with Bacon (Forloren Hare)
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