Burning the Candle At Both Ends and Easy Lentil Soup

Apologies for the delays these days. Mrs. E. and I have been very, very busy of late. Take that title, above. I wrote it in a haze this morning after roughly 5 1/2 hours of sleep and now have no clue as to the, no doubt vital, tale that I wanted to pass along to you. So I’ll pass along a recipe instead.

How do you feel about lentils? Yeah me, too. Shades of Neil. Which is why, when I do make lentil soup, I prefer the Spanish recipes. This will feed about six to eight adults.

1 bag of Spanish lentils (they are brown and green and not as hard when cooked as the French version.) Pick them over to ensure they are free of pebbles.

1 onion, peeled and sliced

4 or 5 roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 fist of garlic, unpeeled and roasted until singed. (Over the gas hob or in a toaster oven.)

8 cups of chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of Spanish paprika

1 ham bone/ham hock or pork belly chopped

4 links of chorizo

1 small bunch of kale leaves or spinach, shredded

1 large potato, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons olive oil

pepper and salt to taste

hardboiled eggs, quartered, optional garnish.

Put everything except the greens, olive oil, eggs and potato into a soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer for close to an hour, or until the lentils are soft and almost dissolving. Stir every once in a while to prevent sticking. If the soup looks like it’s drying out, add a cup of water.

Once the lentils are ready, add the potato and bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat and cook for another ten minutes until the potato is tender. Add the kale/spinach and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for another ten minutes or so. Stir through the olive oil and cook for another 5 minutes.

Garnish with the hardboiled eggs and serve crusty bread and an inexpensive red wine alongside.