For years now I have followed Heidi Swanson at www.101cookbooks.com. I relate to her obsession with collecting cookbooks and recently counted mine. I come in at just under 100. Ninety eight to be exact. I’ve identified a couple that I never use, but otherwise I use them all. When I want to cook anything, I cross reference the recipe until I find one that sounds the best or cobble together elements from various recipes that I think will work.
Part of that collection includes Heidi’s “Supernatural Cooking,” an extremely healthy collection of vegetarian recipes. I like the book and the recipes are good, but they often include ingredients that are difficult to find and it becomes discouraging. As a devote of Julia Child, I try to follow her advice and not to be daunted by a lack of ingredient and just forge ahead without it or find what seems like an adequate substitution. For example, she has a recipe for chocolate chip cookies with mesquite flour. I've never found the mesquite flour and don't feel like sending away for a bag of it just for these cookies. A substitute of whole wheat flour just has to suffice. The cookies get rave reviews, so I guess they aren't suffering too much from the missing ingredient.
Heidi recently announced that she is working on a new cookbook and I can hardly wait until it comes out. The recipes are going to be quick, weeknight recipes. While I firmly believe the best food involves time and attention, I don’t always have hours to cook dinner and having some quick, healthy recipes at my fingertips will be welcome.
As if the extensive collection of cookbooks and cooking magazines weren't enough, I continually go to 101cookbooks to check out Heidi's new recipes and find something for dinner. I recently made her red lentil soup and it was unbelievably fantastic. Of course, I modified it because I love spice. The original merely called for a bit of red pepper flakes, but I found that an addition of curry powder and a hint of garam masala was just the ticket. The brown rice adds body to the soup, which is much needed as red lentils can be a bit weak.
This soup takes very little time to make and is the perfect thing for a cold winter night.
Red Lentil Soup
extra virgin olive oil
1 onion or shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 tsp. curry powder
dash of garam masala
6 cups good-tasting vegetable stock (or water)
1 1/3 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1/2 cup brown rice, picked over and rinsed
salt as needed
In a big soup pot, over medium heat, combine the olive oil, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes. Let them brown, and caramelize a bit, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the broth, bring to a boil, then stir in the lentils and rice. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the rice is very tender. This may take longer depending on the type of rice you have. By this time, the lentils will have collapsed. If you need to add more water/broth at any point, do so a splash at a time, until the soup thins out to the point you prefer.
Salt the soup until it no longer tastes flat.
Serves 4 - 6.
3 comments:
Sounds good and hearty. I bet it sticks to your ribs.
What is the difference between red lentils and green ones (other than the color)?
Red lentils are softer and have a more subtle flavor. They totally absorb the flavors around them while green lentils have a more distinctive flavor. You could definitely use those, I'd think, but make sure you have rice that does not require cooking for an hour or you will cook the life out of the green lentils and end up with mush. Or cook the rice separately and add later or spoon the lentil stew over it. I made something similar over the weekend with green lentils, carrots and Swiss chard and it was very hearty and yummy.
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