Lentil and Spinach Soup

This was week #3 in the Kind Soup series - with Chef Carol Weil

 The background

This recipe is substantially (with some tweaking by me looking at other Dal Palak recipes) from The Immigrant Cookbook:  Recipes That Make America Great.  I wanted to use this cookbook to hearken back to KindWorks’ pre-COVID refugee meal cooking sessions which I miss so much.  So here’s a Shout Out to my homie KindCooks – old and new.  I can’t wait to see you in my kitchen when it is safe for us to be cooking together.  

• “We asked Chef Hari Nayak for a recipe he thinks best exemplify the Winter season. He gave us this recipe for “Lentil & Spinach Soup” or locally known in India as “Dal Palak.” He explains why it’s great for the Winter by saying, “This is a perfect winter dish. Served over rice it can make a very comforting and hearty meal. You can have this soup anytime of the year but it is especially great for when the weather is cold! Serve it with rice, naan bread, bread sticks, and crusty bread or have it just by itself. This soup has a refreshing austerity that makes it feel like a safe haven amidst decadence and yet it is still nourishing and warm and filling, a wonderful one-bowl meal.”

Lentil and Spinach Soup   

Serves 16

Ingredients

4 T vegetable oil (I use Canola)

4 teaspoons cumin seeds (can use ground cumin but then use less)

4 medium red onions

8 garlic cloves

4 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 t turmeric

1 lemon, juiced

2 quarts lo salt vegetable broth (added ~2 cups additional water)

4 small tomatoes (Roma are good for this)

4 cups red or yellow lentils – I prefer yellow but if you use red, beware that they cook REALLY quickly and can get REALLY mushy.  Green or brown work fine, will just need to cook longer.

8 cups fresh spinach or 4 cups frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained. 

2 cups coconut milk (used one can)

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper, chile powder, or sriracha to taste

Cilantro for garnish (optional)

1)Heat oil in large saucepan, add cumin seeds (they will sizzle upon contact).  

2) Add onion, ginger, garam masala, and turmeric, and cook, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.  

3) Add tomato and cook until soft.  Add lentils and 7-9 cups of water or broth (start with 8), reduce heat to low, cover, and let gently simmer.   Check after 10 minutes to see if you need more water.  Soup can be thick (less water) or thinner (more water) to your preference.   

4) Stir in the spinach, coconut milk, lemon juice, and salt and cayenne/sriracha/chile powder to taste.  Cover and simmer until spinach is cooked about 5-10 more minutes).  

Serve hot, garnished with cilantro if desired.  Best with another squeeze of lemon.

Prep Before Zoom

Chop onions

Peel garlic cloves

Juice your lemon 

~If using frozen spinach, thaw and drain beforehand

 

See you on the Zoom! 

Topic: KindWorks Simply Soup Saturdays Weekly Zoom Meetings

Time: This is a recurring meeting Saturdays 5-6pm

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88639038021?pwd=S0xCcnlxUjNiWTlnRStQeEFWNTljZz09

Meeting ID: 886 3903 8021

Passcode: 120464

 

Afterwards:

Label each container with:  date, your first name and last initial, type of soup, and mark it VEGAN.
Drop off at one of the participating food assistance providers (see below), with a person or family that is in your heart, or a place that you prefer, when convenient,
Email deb.lang@DoKindWorks.org saying that you dropped off  __ containers of  ___ soup at ____ on ___date and feel free to include a picture or two – we love pictures!
THANK YOU!!   

• upCounty Consolidation Hub at the Black Rock Center for the Arts in Germantown (12901 Town Commons Dr, Germantown, MD 20874), M-F 9am-1pm
• Cordell Place (a Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless shelter) 4715 Cordell Avenue in Bethesda – 301-986-8780
• Seneca Heights Apartments  (a Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless dwelling) 18715 N. Frederick Avenue, Gaithersburg – 301-519-2530

Join us next Saturday!      (and have a great week)