Lebanese Lentil and Chard Soup
The Lebanese lentil and chard soup is a hearty meal that is pantry cooking at its finest. This is hearty, simple and yet elegant enough to serve to your guest. This stew is gluten-free, vegan and on your table in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- ⅔ cups green or brown lentil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 4 cups of vegetable stock or chicken
- 1 large potatoes cut into ½ inch cubes
- ½ bunch of chard leaves removed from the stocks. Stocks finely diced.
Teklai:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 5 garlic clove crushed
- 1 teaspoon ground corianders
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ cup fresh cilantro finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Prep your lentils. Wash lentil with cold water and drain. Check for any stone or other dabris in the lentils.
- Saute your onions. In a medium-sized pot (6qt) on medium-low heat add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the onions, and cumin. Cook until the onion are soft.
- Combine your ingredients. Then add lentils, potatoes, and vegetable stock to the pot. Bring to the lentils to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes and remove any foam that comes to the surface.
- Simmer the soup. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot and continue cooking for 20-30 mintues or until the lentils are soft but not completely falling a part. Stir occasionally. You may need more water if the soup becomes too thick.
- Prepare the Taklai: While the soup is cooking, it's time to prepare the Teklai: In a frying pan, heat the olive oil, then add garlic, jalapeno, and spices. Once the garlic has started to turn golden, about 2-4 minutes. Add the cilantro. Saute until the cilantro wilts. Add the lemon juice and salt. Set aside.
- Put it all together. Remove the soup from the heat and fold the chopped chard leaves and taklai into the soup and cover for 2-3 minutes to allow the chard to steam. Add ½ the teklai to the stew and serve the other half at the table in case anyone would like extra. Or you can just spoon a bit on each bowl of stew and serve the rest at the table. The choice is yours. 😉
- Final touch. Time for the best part, taste your soup. Adjust the salt if needed. Add the lemon juice just before serving
Notes
To Make in an Instant pot: Use the saute function: fry onions & chard stocks until the onions are golden. Add the lentils, potatoes and 3 ½ cups of stock. Turn off Saute mode. Cover and steal the pressure cooker. Set for 15 mintes on bean/chilli mode. Once finished do a quick release and follow step 4 to 7 in the original recipe.