Bowl of Palestinian Red Lentil Soup
(click to enlarge)

Palestinian Red Lentil Soup


Palestine   -   Shorbet Addas
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 7 cups
***
1-1/2 hr
Yes		 A surprisingly flavorful soup course that can be a main course (see Comments). Variations of this soup are popular throughout the Levant.




1-1/4
6
4
3
5
4
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1
1/2
1/4
1/4
1/2
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3
3
3
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ar
ar
c
oz
cl
oz
oz
oz
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t
t
t
t
T
---
T
c
T
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Red Lentils (1)  
Onions
Garlic
Celery
Carrots
Squash (2)
-- Seasonings
Cumin seed
Corriander
Aleppo (3)
Turmeric
Salt
---------------
Olive Oil
Broth (4)  
Lemon Juice
-- Garnish
Parsley
Zatar -or-
    Aleppo
Prep   -   (35 min) - all hand cut into tiny dice - other methods would be faster)
  1. Chop ONION fine, as evenly as you can.
  2. Crush GARLIC and chop fine.
  3. Peel CARROTS and chop fine. Chop CELLERY fine. Chop SQUASH fine. Mix all.
  4. Grind Cumin and Corriander in your spice grinder. Mix all Seasonings items.
  5. Squeeze Lemon Juice.
  6. Chop PARSLEY for Garnish.
Run   -   (55 min)
  1. In a suitable coverable sauce pan (3 qt), heat Olive Oil and fry Onions, stirring until light golden. A sprinkle of Salt will help them color evenly.
  2. Stir in Garlic. Fry for another minute.
  3. Stir in Carrot Mix and fry stirring another 4 minutes.
  4. Stir in Broth, Lentils, and Seasoning mix. Bring to a boil. As it comes to a full boil, it will foam up. Skim off the foam as it rises. Simmer covered until Lentils are quite soft.
  5. At this point you can serve as is, or use an immersion blender to blend part of it, or all of it (or use and regular blender or food processor to blend part or all). I prefer a 1/3 to 1/2 blend, but the pattern recipe called for fully blended.
  6. Bring the Soup back to a simmer, stirring. Stir in Lemon Juice and check seasoning.
  7. Serve hot, garnished with Zatar or Aleppo and Parsley. Flat bread is the usual accompaniment, usually toasted.
NOTES:

  1. Lentils:

      These should be split and peeled red lentils, which are commonly available. Indian Masoor Dal would also work.

  2. Squash:

      Use a firm summer squash. The pattern recipe calls for "Koosa", which is sold here in California as Mediterranean Squash or Mexican Squash. Other firm summer squash could be used.

  3. Aleppo Flake

      This Chili Flake comes in two types, Aleppo Mild, which is very mild, and Aleppo Extra Hot, which is still rather low heat compared to other Chili Flakes. If a recipe just says "Aleppo", mild can be presumed. These are now quite available in North America, in markets with a good spice section, or can be ordered on-line. If you need to use a hotter flake, cut the quantity to about 2/3 or even 1/2.

  4. Broth:

      This can be a Vegetable Stock, or Water with a couple Bouillon Cubes. For the photo example, I used Water and 2 T Vegeta Powder. If you don't need it vegetarian, you could use Chicken Broth.

  5. Comments:

      For buffet service, I just stir the Garnishes in. To prepare the traditional flatbread (Pita), brush it with Olive Oil and toast in a 350°F/175°C oven for a few minutes until crispy and brown. Thinly sliced Onion, sliced Radishes and Lemon Wedges may be served on the side if desired. This soup is also made as more of a main dish by leaving it unblended and mixing in a cup of toasted flatbread cubes.
  6. 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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