Photo: Bernard Gordillo/WFIU
This soup includes tomatoes, carrots and onions in addition to the lentils.
Experiment with this recipe however you like. You could add bay leaves, rosemary and other spices; add some crab meat, shrimp or bacon; or finish the dish with a dollop of sour cream of yogurt.
As I like to say — use a recipe as guidelines, but don’t act like you’re reading the Bible!
Yellow Lentil Bisque
Yield: 1 ½ gallons of soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound yellow or red lentils
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 8 diced/chopped plum tomatoes
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 Spanish onion, peeled and diced
- 1 bulb fennel
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 4 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 quarts water
- salt, pepper, nutmeg, and Tabasco to taste
Cooking Directions
- Rinse the lentils in cold water. Sauté the vegetables and spices in olive oil. Add the lentils, cover with water and bring to a simmer.
- When all the vegetables and lentils are cooked and tender, puree the mixture with a stationary or hand-held blender and pass through a fine chinoise. Adjust thickness with additional water or vegetable stock as needed.? Season to taste.
- May be made 2-3 days in advance and reheated gently as needed.
- Serve in warm bowls with crusty bread.
- Garnish with: ¼ cup thick drained yogurt, cilantro or other toppings: crab meat, grilled or roasted vegetables, pumpkin seed oil, toasted nuts, etc.
