There are lots of cooks out there who actually know what they are doing. I pretty much taught myself to cook, out of necessity. I haven’t a clue most of the time, but I do love to eat. I made this soup in the Crockpot. You could simmer this stovetop or over the fire or cook it in a Dutch oven. No matter how you choose to do it, you will end up with a thick, hearty soup.
Ingredients
- bones and fat trimmed from a cut of lamb shoulder or chop
- 2 cups lentils
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 potato, grated
- 1 carrot, grated
- 3 cloves garlic,minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 6 cups water
- 1/4 handful dried or fresh chopped parsley
- a pinch or two of cumin
- about the same amount of turmeric
- the juice of one lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Clean and rinse 2 cups of lentils and place them in a Crockpot. Add broth and water and set to low. I used 2 cups of chicken broth and 6 cups of water. Any kind of broth will work and the ratio of broth to water isn’t critical. That’s just what I happened to have and it worked fine.
I trimmed the fat and bones from a lamb shoulder cut. I sliced the meat into thin strips and set it aside to broil and serve on pita bread. The bones and fat I added to the lentils.
I grated a potato and a carrot into the lentils. I would have used two or three each, but that was all I had. Again, not critical. I peeled and chopped an onion and several cloves of garlic and added them, too. I also added the juice from 1 lemon and some dried parsley, salt, pepper, cumin, and tumeric ( about a pinch each, more or less to taste). I stirred every thing together and left for work.
After 8 hours in the Crockpot on low, the lentils were soft. I fished out the lamb bones and pureed the soup with a stick blender. If you don’t have a blender or don’t want to bother, just turn up the heat and cook until the lentils begin to fall apart. It won’t be as smooth but it will taste just as good.
You can adjust the salt, pepper, and spices to taste and the soup is ready to serve. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if you have it, and serve with lemon wedges and pocket bread stuffed with broiled lamb, parsley and humus. A tumbler of arak poured over ice wouldn’t hurt a thing.
