Lemony Lentil Soup

ruth in NJ's Note:

This comes from an old Sunset soup cookbook from 20 years ago. The cilantro and chard are a unique combination with the added lemon; I use vegetable boullion instead of beef...and no tomatoes!

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 ½ lbs swiss chard
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 ½ cups lentils
• 7 -8 cups water
• 4 vegetable bouillon cubes , 5 grams each
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 3 garlic cloves , minced
• 1 large red potatoes , diced
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Rinse and drain chard.
2. Cut off and discard thickest part of stems,then stack leaves and cut cross-wise into 1/2-inch wide strips.
3. Set aside.
4. Coarsely chop cilantro and set aside.
5. Rinse lentils, then drain.
6. In a 5-quart pan, bring lentils, 7 cups water and bouillon to boil over high heat.
7. Reduce heat and cover, simmering for 20 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, heat oil in small iron skillet over medium-low heat.
9. Add onion and garlic.
10. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden (15-20 minutes), adding finely chopped cilantro during the last
11. five minutes of cooking.
12. Set aside.
13. Add potato to the lentil mixture and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in onion mixture and chard and continue simmering until veggies and lentils are tender to bite.
14. Stir in salt, pepper, cumin, and lemon juice.
15. If desired, thin soup with 1 cup more water.
16. Makes 6 servings.

Reviews

[Glori-B]

Just finished this for dinner. Delish! I made this pretty much as written except that I substituted carrots for the potatoes and added a couple of shots of hot sauce at the table. Thank you very much, ruth in NJ, for a great dinner!

[Chef #677678]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I had been making this recipe for years and had saved it as a page out of an old Sunset cookbook but lost it during a move and have been searching online ever since for this exact recipe! Again, thank you! I'm off to make it now

[Brenda.]

*Delicious* I have been wanting to try this recipe and I could not find swiss chard! Well I found it and am so happy I did. The chard is nicely tamed by the lemon juice and the smokey cumin gives the dish a nice hearty background. I did use flat leaf parsley in place of the cilantro. The soup was even more delicious the next day. I used 8 cups of organic vegetable broth (Emeril's brand) and that amount gave it the perfect consistency for our tastes. The second day I added leftover diced ham from our breakfast ham steaks. Thanks so much for sharing Ruth :) Nick's Mom