Lentil Soup with Tomato and Spinach

Minoo prepared four recipes for the South Arm Community Kitchen held at the Bethel Church. It looks like that we will continue to meet at the Bethel Church until the summer break in July. We appreciate very much for Bethel Church’s generosity to allow us to use their well equipped kitchen for free.

For the starter, Minoo selected a lentil soup recipe. Lentils require soaking (some overnight) before cooking due to the presence of anti-nutrients such as phytic acid and tannins. Lentils can be used to make soup, salad or cook with rice to add protein to the vegetarian diet.

Here are some recipes that I had blogged before about lentil:

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This soup gets a gentle heat from jalapeno pepper and a burst of added flavours from freshly squeezed lemon juice and freshly roasted spices. The addition of tomatoes and spinach also adds freshness to the soup.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 2 tablespoons oil or butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
  • 1 1/2 cups yellow lentils, washed and drained
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 plum tomatoes, peel and dice
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • salt to taste

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Source: Minoo

The spinach can be substituted with other green vegetables like kale.

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Mushroom, Barley and Lentil Soup

With the grain theme in mind, Minoo prepared a Mushroom, Barley and Lentil Soup in the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen.

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The Mushroom, Barley and Lentil Soup is a one pot meal that are very hearty and certainly very filling. Minoo made it rather thick and it’s more like a porridge to me. This will be a vegetarian dish if you use vegetable broth instead of chicken stock.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups good chicken or beef stock
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cup pearl barley
  • 1 cup mixed lentils
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1 cup diced carrot
  • 1 cup diced parsnip
  • 1/2 cup cloud ear fungus, reconstituted and chopped
  • 1 pound fresh button mushroom (or any kind of your preference), sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup dill, chives or parsley, chopped

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Please note: parsley should be in place of the cilantro; ingredient got mixed up.

Source: this recipe is adapted from Kevin Turner

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Carrot and Red Lentil Soup

The theme for this South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors is carrot. The senior garden has yield a good harvest of carrots. All thanks to the volunteers who mind the garden all summer long. One of the volunteer is Frank who keeps a healthy lifestyle at his golden years.

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Health benefits of carrots:

  • an excellent source of beta carotene, the precursor of vitamin A
  • a good source of dietary fiber and potassium
  • help prevent night blindness, an inability of the eyes to adjust to dim lighting or darkness caused by deficiency of Vitamin A. Vitamin A combines with therotein opsin in the retina’s rod cell to form rhodopsin, which is needed for night vision.
  • may help to lower blood cholesterol lever
  • protect against caner

Drawback:

  • excessive intake can give skin a yellowish tinge

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Marian prepared a couple of recipes which the main ingredient is carrot. A carrot soup and a carrot loaf. The Carrot and Red Lentil Soup is sweet and laden with fiber. It can be served creamy or chunky according to your preference. Most of the participants preferred a creamy carrot soup except for Marcel. So, for Marcel’s sake, we blended half of the soup to make creamy soup and added the remaining half of chunky soup for texture.

Ingredients

  • 8 medium size carrots, peel and coarsely chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup split red lentil
  • 5 cups water or chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
  • fresh cilantro for garnishing (optional)
  • plain yogurt
  • salt and pepper to taste

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Source: this recipe is adapted from the International Bestseller ‘Staying Alive’ via Marian

Serves 8

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Herbed Lentil and Barley Soup

June and Linda, voluntered to lead the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors for this cooking session while Family Services is in the midst of finding someone to lead the kitchen after Charlene goes on a greener pasture.

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The first dish led by June is called Herbed Lentil and Barley Soup. This is a healthy soup which is easy to make and delicious at the same time. Lentils which comes in red, green or brown are very high in fibre and folic acid. The soup is thick and almost resembles a stew. This is a great vegetarian alternatives. It’s is inexpensive and it freezes well as most soup.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil like canola
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon parsley flakes (or 2 tablespoons fresh parsley)
  • 1/2 cup green or brown lentils (which holds their shape better when cooked)
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1/4 cup pearl barley
  • 1 14oz (398ml) tin chopped tomatoes, with juice
  • lemon slice (optional)
  • salt and ground pepper to taste
  • 1 baguette
  • olive oil
  • garlic for rubbing baguette

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Source: this recipe is adapted from Mohinder Sidhu

Prep time:  30 minutes; Cook time: 1 1/2 hours;  Serves 4

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French Lentil Salad

These French Lentil Salad may not look enticing, but the deeply flavored tomato dressing makes this salad very tasty and satisfying. Charlene will not want anything else if there is a bowl of French Lentil Salad in her refrigerator.

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These French Lentil Salad will keep for 5 days in the fridge. They are delicious warm or at room temperature. They make ideal side dish, pita filling, or a simple main when served on top of rice. Reheat them with some broth and chopped celery and carrot to make a simple lentil soup. What a versatile dish.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried French lentils
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons minced onion
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

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Frank and Ken partnered to make this French Lentil Soup.

Source: Charlene Dy

Prep time: 10 minutes; Cook time: 25 minutes; Serves 4

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Indian Cuisine: Lentil Soup (Khatti Daal)

I had just blogged about an Arabic Lentil Soup recently.  Here is another version of Lentil Soup. Minoo made an Indian version of Lentil Soup at the Caring Place Community Kitchen. Lentil is comfort food in India and it is a daily diet as a lot of the population are vegetarian. Lentil is rich in fiber and protein. Indian Lentil Soup differs from others not only on the use of spices but the way the spices are added to the Lentil Soup. The sizzling action of adding the fried spices at the end of the cooking process makes the difference.

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup masoor (a brown skin lentil which are red inside)
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 5 sprigs of curry leaves
  • 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • oil for frying spices
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 to 3 whole red chilies

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Vania also did some research of the health benefits of some Indian spices.  Vania, thank you for sharing.

Cumin Seeds:

  • good for digestive disorder like diarrhea, nausea and morning sickness as cumin seeds help digestion
  • rich in iron and help absorb nutrient into our body
  • detox body by helping our liver
  • reduce risk of cancer
  • boost our immune system

Turmeric:

  • If used with cauliflower, it prevents prostate cancer
  • helps liver detox
  • prevent or slow down Alzheimer disease
  • is a natural anti-inflammatory drug
  • is a natural pain killer
  • helps loose weight
  • used to prevent depression
  • helps treat skin conditions

Cinnamon:

  • lowers LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol)
  • helps regulate sugar for diabetics
  • reduces cancer cell production
  • relieves pain from arthritis if combine with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of honey
  • improves memory
  • is a good source of manganese, fibre, iron and calcium

Star Anise:

  • prevents flu
  • cures stomach ache due to excessive gas
  • prevents headache

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Arabic Lentil Soup

>Minoo resumed the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen with 3 recipes.  The first recipe is a lentil soup.  Lentil or daal belongs to the legume family.  Lentil is high in protein and is an important part of the diet for India which has a large population of vegetarians.  Lentils come in many variety with colors ranges from yelllow to orange to green, brown and black.

Regional seasonings can change the character of lentil soup. Minoo made the …

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Arabic Lentil Soup:

  • add 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 bay leaves and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.

Other regional variations are:

North African Lentil Soup:

  • add 1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads or powder with onion and 1 x 8-ounce can whole tomatoes, crushed with broth.

Persian Lentil Soup:

  • add 2 tablespoons orange juice or 2 teaspoons grated orange peel or lemon peel just before serving.

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Marinated Lentil Salad

This is first salad for the salad theme in the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors.  Sydney and Lorna made this salad besides the Island Pork Tenderloin.  Lentil is a high in fiber and a great meat substitute for a vegetarian dish.

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Cooking the lentils for only 15 minutes preserves their shape and texture.  Tossed with a little vinaigrette, they make a tasty and satisfying salad.  This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light and it serves 8.

Ingredients

Vinaigrette:

  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

  • 1/2 cup chopped parsnip or turnip
  • 1/2 cup chopped carrot
  • 6 cups boiling water
  • 1 1/2 cups dried lentils
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
  • 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

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Lentil Soup

The South Arm Community Kitchen was in the local newspaper a week and a half ago. The article was published on 30th Oct. The article covered both the South Arm Community Kitchen and the South Arm Cooking Club for seniors.

In this week’s Cooking Club for seniors meet, Hugh shared with us a Lentil Soup recipe. He made this Lentil Soup for his son at home. The Lentil Soup is rich with vitamins and fiber from the vegetables and the lentil is a rich source of protein and fiber too. Karen and Santosh helped Hugh with all the peeling and chopping for this recipe.

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Regional seasonings can change the character of this Lentil Soup. The variations are:

  1. Arabic Lentil Soup: add 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 bay leaves and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger with other seasonings.
  2. North African Lentil Soup: add 1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads or powder with the onion and 1 (8oz) can whole tomatoes, crushed with the broth.
  3. Persian Lentil Soup: add 2 tablespoons orange juice or 2 teaspoons grated orange peel or lemon peel just before serving.

Ingredients

  • 1 can lentils, rinse several times, drain and set aside
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 medium carrots, sliced
  • 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
  • 1 small turnip or parsnip, if desired, peeled and diced
  • 8 cups beef broth (2 qts) or vegetable or chicken broth
  • 3 parsley sprigs, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar

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Curried Red Lentil Soup

We were invited to Minoo’s Cooking Class in Caring Place yesterday. Minoo whipped up two dishes, Curried Red Lentil Soup and Jude’s Date, Nut and Chocolate Chip Cake.

Here is the recipe for the first dish, Curried Red Lentil Soup. Lentil is a good substitution for protein for vegetarian eater. Lentil is cheap compare to meat and it’s also high in fiber. It is very filling and yet light to our wallet.

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A bowl of creamy Curried Red Lentil Soup is great on a cold winter day.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups red lentils (or any lentil of your preference)
  • 2 quarts water (8 cups)
  • 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • a bunch of parsley
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder (more, if you like it spicier)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
  • herb salt or salt and pepper to taste
  • sour cream or yogurt for garnishing

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