Soup: A Warm Hug for Your Belly from Mother Nature Herself.
It has been a minute - and in this minute that has elapsed, we find ourselves enveloped in chilling winds and a colder earth (all whilst in a pandemic) - woot. Winter is here and there is no doubt about it. I had a friend recently share with me that the best thing about winter, is that we are one season closer to summer, and I honestly could not agree more.
Now, hear me out… I think winter is magical, HOWEVER, in the part of the world that I live in, the winter months make up the majority of the year, and to put it simply, it lasts a tad longer than I fancy. If a magic show lasted 6-8 months, I think i is fair to say that the magic would fade.
The one thing I love about winter, however, is that it is the officially unofficial season for soups. Soups are like warm smoothies… okay, even I will admit that that does not sound appetizing, let’s try that again; soups are a warm hug for your belly from mother nature herself. There is something so complimentary and kind for the earth to birth its harvest to us after a long summer’s growth and for us to be able to sop up its nutrients and flavour in a warm liquid-y meal.
One of my favourite soups is a spin-off from a traditional middle eastern soup my mother would make, called Shorbet Addas. Shorbet Addas is a velvety lentil soup that gifts the soul with some earthy flavours of cumin, carrot and orange lentils. Shorbet Addas is not typically made with carrots, however, I find that the addition of carrots not only brings out a vibrant orange hue to the dish but also adds a ton of flavour while boosting the nutrient density of this dish up by a few notches. Carrots are packed with vitamin A, and is an alkaline-forming food for the body, all good news for our inner systems and hardware.
One of my favourite things about this soup is that it is simple to make but leaves a lasting impression on those who are graced by its nourishing qualities. It requires a simple handful of ingredients (many of which are pantry staples), and can be prepared in just over an hour all in a single pot. Although I prefer to blend the soup at the end so the flavours and textures blend into one another, this soup can also be enjoyed with its earth chunks in tact (aka. Not blended!).
Recipe for Shorbet Addas:
Ingredients
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion
3 carrots
1 cup orange lentils (soaked)
6-8 cups water (boiled)
2-3 tablespoons of cumin powder
2 tsp salt
2 cups chicken stock (optional)
Parsley for garnish
Black Pepper to taste
Directions:
Prep:
Soak the orange lentils in warm water for 30 min (you can soak them while you prepare your vegetables).
In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil (this can also be done while you prepare the vegetables).
Peel and dice the carrots and onion and set aside in separate bowls.
Cooking:
In another large pot heat your olive oil.
Once the oil is hot, add your diced onion and a pinch of salt and cook on med-high heat for 4 min, or until the onion has softened.
Turn the heat down to medium, and add the diced carrots to the onion and cook for another 7 min, or until carrots are vibrant orange and begin to soften. Stir often to avoid burning
Strain and wash your orange lentils until the water that runs from it is clear (as opposed to murky or starchy. You want to ensure that you rinse the lentils well so the least amount of starch is kept in your soup).
Once the carrots are soft, add the well rinsed lentils to the pot and stir the lentil-carrot-onion mix well. Keep stirring well for approximately 5 min, or until lentils soften. This process is really important as it informs the flavour composition of the soup. The process of gentle saute-ing the vegetables before adding in your liquid helps retain the flavour value of the individual vegetables that are a part of this dish. The protein in the lentils will begin to break down which may cause the lentils to stick to the bottom of the pot, stir well and often to avoid any major stickiness or burning.
Slowly pour approximately 5 cups of pre-boiled water ( or 3 cups hot water and 2 cups of warmed chicken/vegetable stock) over your lentils and stir well.
Turn the heat down to med-low and pop a lid partially on the pot and let it cook/simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the carrots and lentils soften. You may notice the orange colour of the lentils turn brown/tan, this is a good indicator that they are cooked.
To the soup, add 3-4 tablespoons of cumin powder and stir well. Add salt/pepper to taste.
At this stage, you can decide if you would prefer to blend the soup or keep it chunky. It is delicious either way, however, as I mentioned, my preference is to enjoy it blended.
Enjoy! Sahteyn :)
