I met a colorful character in the blogging world named Alison at Alison Amazed. Born British, but brought up in Canada, her blog is littered with both English and Canadian terms. I adore folks who have one foot in one culture, the other foot in another culture and a finger and toe in a third and fourth. She makes beautiful, vegetarian dishes, but alas, I am not a real cook and need a recipe. Alison gave me directions. Not quite the same. But determined to eat more lentils for the folic acid and the fact that my cousin who lived in Chile for years claims they are so delicious she could eat them daily, I thought I’d give it a try. I can do this….right?
Who am I kidding? This chick needs a recipe. I will never be Rachael Ray. (And that’s okay. I’ve come to terms with it.)
I saved the blog post where I asked her how to make them, set up the lap top on the counter and dove in.
What I needed:
Onions
Garlic
Garam masala or cumin/coriander
Red lentils
A diced carrot
Very small diced potato
a little tomato paste
How to make it:
1. The lentil soup needs to start with onions, garlic, and garam masala or cumin/coriander in hot oil, then toss in the red lentils and scorch/brown them with the spices.
2. Next, throw in a diced carrot, and a very small diced potato – toss that around with the lentils and spices, then add the water and a little tomato paste and simmer until the lentils cook down.
3. Alison said the potato and carrots should almost disappear, I’d have some bits.
“The secret is in searing the spices and lentils before adding the water. Learned this from a weird Ecuadorian meditation teacher who learned it from an East Indian meditation guru.“–Alison
Doesn’t that just sound like the coolest thing ever?
What I did differently:
I didn’t use red lentils, I used the normal brown-colored ones. I thought, lentils are lentils, right?
I scorched them like she said and then put everything in the crock pot for 4-6 hours, including the water. I had a two cup bean, five cup water ratio because most of the beans I make use a two cup bean, six cup water ratio. I used one less cup of water because lentils are tiny and cute.
I wasn’t sure what the other spices were, but I did have cumin in the cabinet.
The End Result:
It tasted like watery soup, but we ate the whole pot anyway. Poor Matt.
What I did wrong:
1. Alison said red lentils do make a difference.
2.The onion, garlic, spices and vegetables are supposed to make a broth.
3. I needed to get a kind of brown paste made from the spices and vegetable juice. That never happened.
4. I used way too much water.
“The idea is when it all cooks down the lentils disappear and become the broth.”–Alison
My conversations with Alison the last couple weeks and the fact that I didn’t get it right the first time has brought me to an exciting decision. My brother was right. I need to take cooking classes. 🙂 I would never, ever have considered something as overwhelming as cooking classes. For the first time in my life, I think it might be fun. Can you believe it? I’m using FUN and COOKING in the same sentence? I think the earth just moved.
I will make this again according to Alison’s instructions and post it. Maybe in a month or so when we aren’t so burned out on lentils. She says I can do it. And I believe her!
Check out her blog at Alison Amazed. She posts about food, art, vegetarian recipes, and interesting things happening in her area. (She even sings!) Her A-Z Food Challenge to write about one food that starts with each letter of the alphabet has been both informative and entertaining. She’s inviting everyone to try the challenge. Go take a look!
Other informative posts and wonderful recipes for lentils:
Lentils (carolinasurvivalist.wordpress.com)
ABC’s of Eating Well, Week 12: Lentils (prettysimpletasty.wordpress.com)
Crockpot Lentils (madamezenscookbook.wordpress.com)
Today’s Brunch (Lentils and Eggs) (dhirschi.wordpress.com)
Fun Facts on Lentils (spiceadvice.wordpress.com)
Lentils and Ham (simplyrecipes.com)
a recipe blog–lentil curry with paneer (vivisunoriginal.wordpress.com)
Berbere Stew (Ethiopian Lentil Stew) (fatfreevegan.com)
Recipe for Mexican Red Lentil Stew with Lime and Cilantro (Vegan) (www.kalynskitchen.com)
Lentils (Recipe: one-of-everything-soup) (www.theperfectpantry.com)
Dal Palak/Lentils with Spinach (www.ecurry.com)
Hey Jen, Cool post! Straight up, I like that! So the thing about lentils – I could never pull them off either until I watched that Ecuadorian guy make them. He’s the one who told me the red lentils make a big difference. Then I had to try a few times before I got it.
I wonder if the crock pot is messing you up? How about trying them on the stove once and seeing if that helps?
The other thing with veggie soups is that you have to sear the veggies in the spices – garlic, onions, a carrot, a potato, maybe a little celery, then then the lentils – almost like stir frying, but in a saucepan. Get that concoction smelling good and a little juicy paste then add the water – gradually. The lentils don’t need so much water – I think more like 3-1.
Alison
I’m going to try again, but this time on the stove. You make them sound so good!
You learn by experimenting… 🙂 This is awesome. I really enjoy your blogs because it lets me feel like I am closer to you. Bon appetite!
That is the truth isn’t it? You learn by experimenting. I’m so impatient. I always want it to be perfect and when it’s not, I get so mad at myself. I’m not 7, I’m a grown woman. You’d think I would be over that! It seems to get worse the older I get. I feel like I’ve been out there and experienced enough that I should have it together by now. NOT SO. I don’t. I am learning as I experiment though, and Matt, bless his heart, just eats it all and never complains.
I’m so glad you’re reading. I feel so far from you, I think mostly because you’re on the other side of the earth. I’m right here. Just a phone call away. If I miss your call, I’m probably cussing in the kitchen over the crock pot. 🙂 But I’ll call you back. Thanks Ena for reading my blogs!
[…] Lentil soup gone wrong (gicrockpot.wordpress.com) […]
[…] woman, but these are the ones I know. I met Alison online when she gave me a ping back on my Lentil soup gone wrong recipe from my crock pot blog. Alison was writing an A-Z food challenge in which she posted about food […]
[…] on the Beans and Grains post, and also in a very entertaining read on Jennifer Ward Pelar’s Lentil Soup Gone Wrong on her GI Crockpot […]
[…] 'yes') {document.getElementById('splittitletext').style.display = '';} } Cooking GuideCooking GuideLentil soup gone wrong /* Grid Template */ #wpp-products table.grid td { width: 25%; } /* Custom CSS */ /* Custom […]