I found this recipe in our local paper in 2004 in an article about the perfect present for cooks and food lovers—cookbooks! The article reviews half a dozen new cookbooks and included a few recipes. This recipe, from Indian Home Cooking by Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness, intrigued me because of its simplicity. That and the idea of sautéeing the onions separately until they’re “a very dark brown.” Caramelized onions are just so good.
Lebanese Lentil Soup
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
2 cups lentils
12 cups water
2 medium red onions, finely
chopped (about 3 cups)
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup uncooked orzo or acini
pepe past
3 – 4 tablespoons lemon juice
Cilantro or parsley, chopped
Directions
Rinse lentils then combine with water
and salt in a 5- to 6-quart soup kettle. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover,
and simmer gently about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan,
heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often,
until they turn a very dark brown, about 20 minutes. Stir constantly during
last 5 to 10 minutes to prevent burning (you might also need to turn the heat
down to medium).
Scrape onions into kettle with
lentils. Stir in pepper. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add pasta, cover and
simmer until al dente, about 15 minutes more.
To serve, stir a 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice in each bowl and sprinkle with cilantro or parsley.
Look for Molly’s new series—the Haunted Shell Shop
Mysteries—coming in July 2024!
Book 1: Come Shell or High Water
When widowed folklorist Maureen
Nash visits a legendary North Carolina barrier island shell shop, she discovers
its resident ghost pirate and the mystery of a local’s untimely death . . .
"Molly MacRae's delightful pirate ghost story and cozy mystery mashup is not to be missed. Cozy readers will be enthralled with this trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks." —Amanda Flower, USA Today bestselling author of Blueberry Blunder
In the meantime, you can enjoy her other books.
The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes
“murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning,
national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop
Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short
stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a
winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Twitter or Instagram.
Sounds yummy! Thank you for the recipe.
ReplyDelete2clowns at arkansas dot net
You're welcome, Kay.
DeleteSuch simple ingredients. Cooking the onions until they are beautifully browned is a flavor blast!
ReplyDeleteI assume green or brown lentils are acceptable.
You're right, Libby. Green or brown. It's possible the original recipe called for French lentils which we only found once years ago. They're greenish gray and smaller that the usual green or brown lentils. They have a more peppery flavor. They were great in the soup but by now I've given up looking for them.
DeleteOh caramelized onions make the dish! aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteHappy eating and happy reading, April!
Delete