Bowl of Sephardic / Spanish Red Lentil Soup
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Red Lentil Soup


Sephardic / Spanish   -   Sopa de Lentejas Colorada
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 3-1/2 qt
***
1-1/4 hrs
Yes		 This soup is made by Sephardic Jews in Greece, but is basically a Spanish soup bearing a Spanish name. Lentil soups, both red and green, are poplar in Spain from Moorish influence.




1-1/2
14
10
8
8
1/2
2
1
------
1/2
1/2
1/4
2
------
3
7
c
oz
oz
oz
oz
c

T
---
t
T
t
t
---
T
c
Lentils, Red
Tomatoes
Onion
Carrots
Celery
Parsley (1)
Bay Leaves
Lemon Juice
-- Spicing
Pepper, black
Cumin
Chili Powder (2)  
Salt
-----------
Olive Oil ExtV
Water

When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, they took many Spanish recipes with them. See Comments for additional details.

Broth   -   (55 min - 10 min work)
  1. Rinse LENTILS. Place into a bowl and cover with cold water. Allow to soak for a couple of hours.
  2. Scald TOMATOES in boiling water 1 minute, quench in cold water. Peel and chop small.
  3. Peel ONIONS and chop small. Peel CARROTS and dice small. Dice CELERY small. Mix all.
  4. Remove stems from PARSLEY and chop small.
  5. Squeeze Lemon Juice (vinegar is also often used).
  6. Grind Pepper and Cumin in your spice grinder. Mix with Chili Powder and Salt.
Run   -   (15 min work)
  1. In a pot (4 quart min) heat Oil and stir in Onion mix. Fry stirring until Onions are translucent, no browning.
  2. Stir in Tomatoes, then Lentils, Bay Leaves, Parsley and Water. Bring to a boil and simmer about 45 minutes.
  3. When done, stir in Spicing mix and simmer a few minutes more.
  4. Stir in Lemon Juice and take off the heat. Serve Hot.
NOTES:

  1. Parsley:

      Always use flat leaf (Italian) parsley for cooking. Measure is after chopping.

  2. Chili Powder:

      Cayenne or any other hot chili powder. I use Indian Reshampatti because it is always on hand. Adjust to your own preference. For details see our Chili Powder & Flake page.

  3. Comments

      This recipe is quite large, as many Sephardic recipes are, as they had to be made on Friday, cooked overnight in the ashes, so they could feed the family all day Saturday (the Sabath). Feel free to make a half batch if you don't need this much. Cristians in Spain might add a small amount of meat to this soup if it wasn't Lent or another meatless day.
  4. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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