Lebanese Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup

Elmotoo's Note:

A simple, fairly quick recipe to enjoy as the nights grow cooler. And as NA*ME Tag gets busier! ;)

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 cup large green lentil
• 1 bunch fresh swiss chard
• 7 cups water
• 10 garlic cloves , peeled and crushed
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 lemons, juice of , to taste
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Spread the lentils on a platter and pick them clean of any impurities. Rinse & drain.
2. Put the lentils and water in a large saucepan and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan, and boil gently for 30 - 45 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
3. While the lentils are cooking, wash the swiss chard, trim the dirty bottom ends of the stalks, if any, and chop into thin strips about 1/2-inch wide. Add to the lentils & simmer another 5-10 minutes until the chard has softened.
4. Peel the garlic cloves, chop them coarsely, and put them in a mortar. Add a generous pinch of salt to absorb the juices released from the crushed garlic and pound with a pestle until you have a smooth paste. You could squeeze the garlic with a garlic crusher but the texture and taste of pounded garlic is nicer.
5. Slowly incorporate the lemon juice into the garlic paste, then the olive oil.
6. When the lentils and chard are done, stir the garlic mixture into the soup. Season with salt to taste and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
7. Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary and serve at room temperature.

Reviews

[DbKnadler]

While I was skeptical about the flavor of this, we tried this for dinner the other night and it turned out great! I thought that with using water instead of broth it would be too bland but that was not the case. That being said I will probably try this with broth the next time. I used red chard so the soup broth turned out a lovely purple color which the kids thought was great. The only one not impressed was my picky husband. He's a meat and potatoes kind of guy tho. =) Thank you for sharing!

[Chef #842523]

Yummy! Used this recipe to prepare chard and kale I received in our share from the local CSA. Used to think I did not like those greens, but this recipe sure makes them tasty and easy to prepare. Best summarized by my husband's comment "you sure prepare weird stuff well". Thank you for sharing!