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LENTIL SOUP ! NO BROTH? FOOD BANK RECIPE

What to do with the bag of dry LENTILS?

LENTILS PROVIDE protein as well as having other outstanding attributes.

LENTIL SOUP

Here's a Lentil don't:

There are different colors and types of lentils. When boiling or using for soup, don't mix the types together as they need different cooking times. If you have regular lentils (the pale brown-green type) and say, red lentils, you will need to cook them separately and put them in the soup at the end of the cooking time. In general lentils usually do not need long cooking times like dry beans and, as they break down a bit, they will thicken the soup. Lentils can also overcook and turn into mush quickly. However, the cooking lends a bit of flavor to the broth. Don't use the little round black lentils for this recipe which are sometimes called "French lentils."  Those are much better as an add-in to a rice dish. The green-brown lentils should simmer to cook in about 25 to 35 minutes.

Broth. I haven't seen broth given out too often in food distribution bags, so you will probably have to provide your own. Some bullion products are mostly salt, even contain the salty food preservative MSG (which I'm wary of) but if you do not have the time to cook up a broth using veggies or chicken, you can use the packets that come with those dry noodle soup packages as your broth base!  I believe a major brand brags that there is no MSG in there. (Use the dry noodle for another recipe!)

One way to flavor a broth, is to make "stock." You to throw in the parts of the veggies you didn't want to eat in the water, such as carrots and stems, and boil to simmer them. Remove them from the broth before including the veggies you do want in the soup.  You may also throw in bones recently saved from another meal.

For about a gallon of broth, use about two cups of lentils unless you want a very thick type soup.

Tradition is that carrots go into the broth as well as a BAY LEAF  (Greek Laurel) and onions. They say Bay leaves add SOUL. But you are being adventurous as well as thrifty so we have to think about what we have in the garden or on hand.

Skillet cooking veggies and spices first:

Cut up whatever veggies you have into smallish pieces including kale, celery, cabbage, onions, garlic, carrots, and cook them first in a pan till semi soft, with some olive or coconut oil...  garlic first, onions next, then the celery, just a minute or two between, overall about ten minutes over low heat. Kale is called a nutrition superstar packed with vitamins and minerals. Cabbage has vitamin C, more than citrus. So do peppers. Then mix all these veggies in your broth. Tradition is to use the celery ribs.  I use leaves and all.  (Leaves that are going yellow should be plucked.)

This pan is also where to put spices that need the cooking to release their powers. For an East Indian flavor consider adding cumin, curry powder, or even the masala type spices that are sold in small boxes. Of course your favorite paprika can please. One teaspoon or less is usually enough to spice up a gallon of soup for European tastes.

You can also use cilantro as a garnish or include it or parsley into your soup.

If you use canned vegetables, they are already cooked, so add them and the juice in the can at the end of the cooking, so they don't turn into tasteless and limp veggies. 

You can also use rice (about one third cup dry is about one cup cooked) or potato. Rice can be white or brown and I suggest that, while it will cook in broth, timing is important, as it will do so in about ten to twenty minutes.  So I cook rice separately. rinse it, and put it in the soup towards the end of the cooking. By putting the rice on the side, some of your family may decide they want the soup without it. Both are starches and I think should be added towards the end of the cooking.

Now, some people cook the lentils on the side, then put half in a blender, so adding two different lentil textures to the broth. If you have no broth, you can easily make a lentil-rich dish that will go over rice or potato instead.

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ROSE WREATH

 

HUNGARICANA DATABASES FOLK MUSIC! CHOOSE A REGION and PLAY THE MUSIC!

Check out the MUSIC!  Hear a song that your ancestors may have sung. In some cases the sheet music is also available!

https://zti.hungaricana.hu/en/

What a wonderful opportunity to hear music from the nation of Hungary!

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