Lemony Lentil Chard Soup Recipes

LEBANESE LEMON LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Cook and stir onion, celery, and carrots until slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add water, lentils, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, salt, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper; stir to incorporate. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 hours.
• Whisk butter and flour together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; stir constantly until thickened and paste-like, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes, until light brown, about 20 more minutes. Whisk flour paste into finished soup, a spoonful at a time, until smooth and creamy. Serve with lemon wedges, 2 tablespoons parsley, and a sprinkle of freshly ground pepper.

CHARD LENTIL SOUP, LEBANESE-STYLE

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Cook lentils in boiling water until beginning to soften, 8 to 10 minutes. Add chard; continue cooking until wilted, about 5 minutes.
• Add potatoes to the boiling water, reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and cook until the potatoes are completely cooked, about 12 minutes.
• Mix lemon juice, crushed garlic, and salt together in a bowl; add to the pot. Continue to cook at a simmer another 5 minutes. Stir olive oil into the mixture. Increase heat to high and cook another 1 to 2 minutes.

INSTANT POT® LEBANESE LENTIL AND CHARD SOUP

Steps:

• Turn on a multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot®) and select Saute function. Heat olive oil in the pot. Add onion, potato, celery, and garlic; cook and stir until starting to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle 1/2 of the cilantro, salt, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon on top; stir until fragrant.
• Pour in water and lentils. Close and lock the lid. Select high pressure according to manufacturer's instructions; set timer for 15 minutes. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for pressure to build.
• Release pressure carefully using the quick-release method according to manufacturer's instructions, about 5 minutes. Unlock and remove the lid. Stir in chard; cover soup and let sit until chard wilts, about 5 minutes. Uncover and stir in juice of 1 lemon.
• Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with remaining cilantro. Cut the second lemon into wedges and serve alongside.

LEMONY LENTIL CHARD SOUP

Steps:

• Place the water and lentils in a 5 quart pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the leek and sauté for a few minutes until it begins to brown. Add the eggplant and 1/2 tsp of salt and sauté for a few minutes, until eggplant begins to soften. Add tomato and cook for a few more minutes, until vegetables become saucy.
• Once lentils are just tender, add the saucy veggies, remaining salt, chard or spinach, zaatar, paprika, cumin, bouillon cubes, and lemon zest to the pot. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Stir in the lemon juice and garlic, ladle into bowls, and serve with lemon slices to garnish.

SWISS CHARD SOUP WITH LENTILS

Steps:

• Wash the chard and with a knife separate the leaves from the stems. Chop the stems and slice the leaves (but keep leaves and stems separate).
• In a large pot or Dutch oven warm the olive oil, add onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic, all the spices, give a good stir, and cook for a further 20-30 seconds.
• Add the lentils, the chopped stems and the broth (alternately, warm water will work too). Bring to the boil.
• Reduce to medium heat, cover with a lid and cook until the lentils are soft, it will take about 15-20 minutes.
• Once the lentils are done, blend part of the soup with an immersion blender (alternately, transfer part of the soup into a highspeed blender, but be careful, it's hot and in this case you might want to turn the heat off and wait 5 minutes until it cools down a bit).
• Add the Swiss chard leaves and half of the coriander, push them down with the back of a wooden spoon, and cook for about 3 minutes until the leaves are tender but still bright and green.
• Turn off the heat, taste and adjust the seaoning adding more salt and pepper according to your taste. You might want to adjust the consinstency too, feel free to add a bit of warm water if you wish to thin out the soup.
• Serve with extra chili flakes if you like, chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice (about a quarter of lemon per serving is fine, don't skip it!). Enjoy.

LEMONY LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

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