Bowl of Lentil Soup with Walnut Smash
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Lentil Soup with Walnut Smash


Palestine   -   Shorbat Addas
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 6 cups
**
1-3/4 hr
Yes		 An elegant soup course, and possibly a light lunch served with flatbread, but it's not complex enough to stand as a main dish soup. It is vegetarian, unless you modify it. See Comments for serving style.




3/4
1
6
2
2/3
3/4
1/8
2
3
1/2
1/4
1
1
2
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1
3
3/4
1/4
1
1/4
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c
#
oz
cl
c
t
t
T
c
T
t
T
T
T
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cl
T
oz
c
T
t
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Lentils (1)  
Chard (2)
Onions
Garlic
Cilantro
Cumin seed
Nutmeg
Olive Oil
Stock (3)
Salt
Pepper
Cornstarch
Water
Lemon Juice
-- Smash
Garlic
Cilantro
Walnuts
Olive Oil ExtV
Lemon Juice
Salt
------------

The stock can be made days ahead and refrigerated.

Prep   -   (60 min)
  1. Cut CHARD about 1 inch below the leaf. Cut out the stems and chop them fine. Chop greens coarse. Keep separate.
  2. Dice ONIONS about 1/4 inch.
  3. Crush GARLIC and chop small.
  4. Chop CILANTRO small. Measure is chopped and lightly packed.
  5. Dry pan roast CUMIN until aromatic, cool and grind in your spice grinder. Mix with grated Nutmeg.
  6. Squeeze Lemon Juice.
  7. Prepare Smash:   Mix all Smash items and grind to a coarse paste in a mini-prep processor or mortar.
Run   -   (45 min)
  1. In a sauce pan, place Lentils and water to cover well. Bring to a boil and simmer until lentils are almost tender (about 15 minutes). Drain, rinse in warm water, drain again.
  2. In a suitable coverable sauce pan (3 quart is good), heat Olive Oil and fry Onions, stirring until translucent, Then stir in Garlic and chopped Chard Stems. Fry stirring another 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in Chard Leaves until starting to wilt, then Cumin mix, Cilantro, Lentils and Stock. Season with Salt and Pepper.
  4. Mix Cornstarch with a Tablespoon of Water and stir into the soup. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add some water if needed, but keep in mind it will be much more liquid after the next step.
  5. Let cool a few minutes. Then use an imersion blender -or- scoop out about 3/4 of the soup and run it in a food processor or blender until smooth. Stir the purée back into the rest of the soup (see Comments).
  6. Bring the Soup back to a simmer. Stir in Lemon Juice and adjust liquid if needed. Check seasoning to taste.
  7. Fill individual bowls with the Soup, then top with a spoonful of the Smash. Serve hot.
NOTES:

  1. Lentils:

      These should green or brown lentils. I prefer the small green ones because they hold their shape well.

  2. Chard:

      [Swiss Chard]   This should be the white stemmed variety. They way I cut the chard leaves nice and even is to first cut out the central rib (stem) for the full length. Place one half leaf over the other and roll them up tightly into a sausage. Holding the sausage by both sides, I slice it in half lengthwise. Then, still holding it together, I slice it crosswise about 3/8 inches wide, or narrower.

  3. Stock:

      For vegetarian, use a vegetable stock. See Vegetable Stock for an example. Otherwise Chicken Stock is fine.

  4. Comments:

      My serving style is quite informal, with a good amount of texture in the soup and not much texture in the "Smash". The pattern recipe was for a more formal presentation. It called for the soup to be completely puréed so it had no texture. They crushed the "Smash" very coarsely in a mortar, so it's appearance drizzled on the top was more distinctly textured.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove ",in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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