Lentil and Chard Soup with Barley

Last night I whipped up some Lentil and Chard soup using this recipe as inspiration. As usual, I deviated from the recipe a bit. To avoid making more pots and pans dirty, I nixed caramelizing the onions and declined to toast the cumin seeds. Instead, I opted to throw everything into a big dutch oven after I cooked the onions and garlic. I had lots of chard from the garden, so that was the only vegetable that went into the soup.

Erika's version :)

~2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 medium onions chopped (I had one yellow and one red from the last CSA share)

3 cloves of garlic diced (from my garden)

Once those were soft I added

1 cup brown lentils (rinsed and picked through)

1/2 cup pearled barley

6 cups of water

3 tablespoons of vegetable stock powder (from the Korean market) I need to work on translating the label!

chard stalks chopped (about 2 bunches worth of chard, from my garden)

I let this simmer until the lentils and barley were soft ~20 minutes, then I added the chopped chard leaves

1/2 jalapeno diced

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

ground black pepper

I also added about 1 more cup of water when I added the chard leaves. Bring this up to a simmer and cook for a few minutes longer.

I sprinkled Parmesan cheese in the bowl and served this with garlic toast and some homemade cheese crackers. I pulled the cracker dough out of the freezer, which I made a while ago, so I'm not sure of the recipe for the crackers.

I thought the spices added that extra layer of flavor and I really enjoyed it. Even though he won't admit it, I think Ebon enjoyed the meal too. He doesn't like the idea of eating something that is leafy and green, like chard. However, everything I've made with it, he's eaten without too many complaints.

On the agenda coming up - Plant Garlic for next spring!!!