Mediterranean Lentil Soup

It’s colddddd in Colorado, so I decided to make some soup. Last year it felt like I was making a batch of soup a week, but so far this year that hasn’t been the case. Mostly because we’ve been moving around so much, had family visiting. Just a lot going on. But the other day I remembered I had some dry lentils sitting in my pantry and thought they would be a nice change.

The original plan was to just cook them and add them to different dishes. Or just eat them on their own with a little olive oil and salt (my favorite way to have them). But then I thought, how about soup? A couple of days before I had made a nice vegetable/bone broth and I figured I could use that for my soup.

My fiancé found this awesome recipe, Mediterranean Lentil Soup, and voila, away we went.

This recipe is a nice alternative to the normal run of the mill soup I had been making. It’s nice because it has all the ingredients you would expect, like carrots, onion, and celery, but also spices like cumin, oregano, basil, and thyme, that I had never put in my soup before. And I’m not sure what exactly it does, but the lemon juice finishing touch adds a nice punch to the mix.

If you are looking for something a little more flavorful, than give this one a try.

Something I like to do is turn my vegetable soup into chicken soup by simply shredding some already cooked chicken and layering it over the top. My favorite way to cook chicken these days is in the slow cooker. With a pot full of soup and a container of chicken, chicken soup is as easy as one, two, three.

Meals & Recipes: Crispy Salmon, Lentils & Broccoli

This is a full bodied and nourishing meal. Great for dinner.

The Dish:

1 - 1.5 ladles of green lentils. 1 handful of boiled broccoli. 1 filet of wild salmon. Finish with olive oil and salt to taste.

Cooking Instructions:

Salmon. Start with wild salmon (click here to learn why). I’ve been enjoying frozen wild sockeye salmon from Whole Foods or Sprouts (grocers closest to me), or fresh wild Sockeye from Trader Joes. Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly coat both sides of the salmon filets with olive oil. Place the filet skin up on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Add a pinch of salt (or two) to each filet and black pepper. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes (depending on thickness of the fish). 

Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler. Place the baking sheet of salmon on the top row and allow the skin to crisp for 60 - 90 seconds (don’t take your eye off of it, it burns quick!)

Green Lentils. Add 3 cups of water or vegetable brother to a pot. Add 1 cup of green lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 45 minutes, covered. Taste for tenderness before removing from heat. Strain the lentils and return them to the pot.

Broccoli. Chop two broccoli crowns into bite size pieces. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add broccoli and let cook for 3 - 5 minutes. Once strained, add the broccoli back to the pot, add 2 pinches of salt and a tbsp of ghee, butter or olive oil and mix.

Delicious and Hearty Lentil Soup

Green lentils have become one of my favorite foods. And making lentil soup is a great way to enjoy them. Check out this hearty recipe and keep some soup in your fridge.

Cooking Instructions:

Bring a pot to medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of olive to the pan, and then add 2 chopped carrots, 1/2 chopped celery stalk, 4 cloves of chopped garlic, 2 slices of chopped white or yellow onion. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes.

Then add 2 cups of vegetable broth, 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of lentils, 3 sliced campari tomatoes, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp of dry parsley, 2 pinches of sea salt and a few cracks of fresh black pepper. Bring to a boil and then down to a simmer and allow to cook for 20 minutes.

Then quarter 6 - 8 crimini mushrooms and add them to the pot. Allow to cook for another 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and enjoy!

Lentils and Chicken

Green and red lentils, chicken thighs, onion, sea salt and olive oil!

Lentils. I have a bulk mix of red and green lentils. Depending on what you buy, the cooking time will vary. Check the packaging. These instructions are based on my mix.

Rinse 1 cup of mixed lentils. Add 3 cups of water or vegetable brother to a pot. Add the lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 - 40 minutes, covered. Taste for tenderness before removing from heat.

Strain the lentils and return them to the pot.

Chicken Thighs. Buy a pack of organic free range chicken thighs (pasture raised is best if you can get it). Preheat the oven to 425. Put the chicken thighs into a Pyrex. Coat them lightly in enough olive oil so they don’t stick to the dish. Add a pinch of salt to each one (each side), black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and a touch of cayenne pepper. Add a little water to the dish. Leave them right side up. Cook at 425 for 20 minutes.

Assemble. Add 1 - 1.25 lattles of lentils to a bowl. Chop up 1 - 2 chicken thighs into bite size pieces. Chop 1 slice of onion. Add everything to the bowl. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil and two pinches of sea salt.

Buon Appetito!