Lebanese Lentil from Molly MacRae

 

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).

When onions are well browned, mix 1 cup of simmering lentil water to them. Careful! The water will sizzle and steam. Continue cooking, stirring every now and then, until the water is almost totally evaporated, about 5 minutes.

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.