Rhubarb Red Lentil Soup With Dukkah Food

RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Start by putting the lentils in a sieve and rinsing them under cold water to remove some of the excess starch.
• Heat the oil in a pot and add in the onions. Turn the heat down to low and leave the onions to gently cook until soft and translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato purée until all the onions have been coated and cook for about 2 minutes.
• Next, add in the red pepper and mix in with the onions.
• In the meantime, dissolve the two stock cubes in a litre of boiling water.
• Add the red lentils and the ham stock to the pot and stir. Leave the soup to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
• If you would like to purée the soup, do so now. I like to give it a few quick pulses with my stick blender to remove any large chunks of onion or pepper, but don´t purée it until completely smooth.
• Season the soup to taste with chilli flakes (if you like a little spice), salt and pepper.
• Serve hot, with some crusty bread and butter. The soup can also be easily reheated the next day or frozen.

RHUBARB-LENTIL SOUP WITH CREME FRAICHE

Steps:

• Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over lentils in a small bowl; let stand 10 minutes.
• Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add carrot, celery, onion, and parsley to pan; saute for 4 minutes. Add rhubarb and saute for 3 minutes. Drain lentils and add lentils to pan. Stir in chicken broth and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 35 minutes or until lentils are tender.
• Remove from heat; let cool 5 minutes. Place 3 cups lentil mixture in a blender or food processor. Remove center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape. secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid to avoid spatters. Blend until smooth. return pureed mixture to pan; stir in pepper.
• Combine chopped dill and creme fraiche in a small bowl. Serve creme fraiche mixture on top of soup; garnish with dill sprigs.

TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Place the lentils and rice in a sieve, rinse well and allow to drain.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy four-quart saucepan. Add the onion, and saute until soft but not brown. Stir in the tomato paste, tomato, paprika and cayenne pepper. Add the lentils, rice and stock. Stir well, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the lentils have virtually dissolved into a puree. Stir from time to time.
• Add salt to taste. If the soup is too thick, add a little water.
• Serve each portion sprinkled with mint leaves and croutons, with lemon wedges and yogurt on the side.