Lentil | Food Final Frontier

Wake up and smell the pumpkin spiced lattes Northern Hemisphere, because fall has officially arrived. Maybe we get it a bit later in California and maybe we don’t feel it as acutely as the show-off New England crowd with their big fancy leaf festivals and their crisp breezes, but we FEEL fall just as much as the rest of you. And, to top it off, we don’t have to deal with that horrid snow stuff that turns to slush stuff and ice stuff and cold stuff.

But I will turn the conversation back to food, something we can all agree on is what keeps this party going.

Soup is THE best comfort food (aside from fattie delicious fried stuff) on a cold night and it has the added bonus of having a gagillion healthy options. Gagillion– that’s a technical term, by the way. You should probably write it down for future reference in a novel or something.

My friend is about to bring over some home made bread to go with this delightful intro-to-fall-soup-a-thon, so here it goes. Enjoy!

And isn’t that a beautiful bunch of purple kale?

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1″ cubes
2 t paprika
1/4 t cumin
3 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T salt
pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 c rice
1/4 c lentils
1/4 c white wine
6 c stock, heated
1 bunch kale, de-ribbed and coarsely chopped
1 can garbanzo beans
grated parmigiano cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss sweet potato, 1 t paprika, cumin, and 1 T olive oil on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes or until sweet potato is fork-tender. Meanwhile, in a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat the remaining oil over medium heat. When hot, add the diced onion and cook until soft, 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, and remaining 1 t paprika. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the lentils and white wine, then the stock. Simmer until rice and lentils are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add kale, beans, and roasted sweet potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve with grated parmigiano on top.

The unexpected chill that has ripped through the Bay Area has left me wanting to curl up with Harry Potter and find solace at the bottom of a cocoa mug. I may be acting slightly dramatic, especially considering the state of the rest of the nation, but I simply will not tolerate such bull….malarchy. Not on my watch, sonny.

To ease the pain of the high-60s, I of course turned to food. After my gluttonous (but totally worth it) weekend in Louisiana, where I consumed beignets upon gumbo upon crawfish upon creole upon…..everything in sight, I tended towards a slightly lighter tone. For those unfamiliar with the little lentil legume, it is an impressive beast in the food pyramid. One serving (a cup, cooked) has a whopping 18 grams of protein, 16 grams of fiber, and only 220 calories. Pretty darn impressive, in my humble opinion.

Lentils don’t need a lot of dressing up in order to be delicious, but if you want to add some flair I would recommend adding a teaspoon of paprika or cumin.

Lentil Soup

adapted slightly from Mark Bittman

1 T coconut oil
1 medium onion, diced fine
2 carrots, diced fine
1 c red lentils, rinsed and picked over for stones
1 bay leaf
6 c stock, hot
S & P
1/4 c greek yogurt
1/2 t cayenne pepper

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil and, when smoking, add the onion and cook a few minutes. Add the carrot and cook for a couple of minutes, until brightened. Add the lentils, bay leaf, and stock. Bring to a boil, add plenty of pepper, and turn the heat down to low. Simmer until the lentils are soft– Mark calls for 30 minutes, but mine took only 20. They will start to fall apart and break down. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf, and puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Add salt to taste, a dab of yogurt, and a sprinkling of cayenne. Serve hot.