Sunday Soup: Red Lentil

I apologize for last week's lack of posting.  Between home renovations, my engagement party and birthday celebrations, I hardly had time to sleep let alone cook! Not that I am complaining- my week was filled with decadent desserts, eating out and more junk food than should be consumed by anyone ever.

That being said, it's time to re-start my attempt at healthy living. Yesterday was the first time in two weeks that I saw the inside of a grocery store and now my fridge is stocked with healthy options (I still have a stockpile of desserts on my kitchen counter. Luckily, I have overdosed on sugar and am completely uninterested in eating the butter tarts, cupcakes and cookies that would normally taunt me).

Last night I dusted off my pots and pans (renovations leave dust EVERYWHERE) and I made a delicious lentil soup.  Earlier last week I went for Middle Eastern food with some friends and had an amazing butter and cream-free lentil soup.  That dinner served as my inspiration for this week's Sunday Soup:

Middle Eastern Inspired Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of red lentils
• 6-7 cups of chicken stock
• 1 large onion
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tbs ground cumin
• 1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot bring lentils and 6 cups of chicken stock to a boil.  Turn down heat, cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until lentils are soft.  While the lentils are simmering, saute onions and garlic in a pan with olive oil until the onions are translucent.  Once the lentils are soft, pour in onion mixture, add cumin and cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for another 10 minutes.  Blend well with an immersion blender (the soup is pretty thick, so I added another cup of stock at this point to thin it out a bit).  Add lemon juice and garnish with cilantro. Serve with warm naan bread and enjoy!

Moroccan Munchies

Last night I was a guest at a traditional Henna ceremony in honour of my friend's recent nuptials to her Moroccan husband. Over the next five months, I have six weddings to go to and this one started off the wedding blitz with a bang.  

This was my first time attending a Henna marriage ceremony.  The girls were dressed in very ornate Moroccan robes and their hands were adorned with henna designs.  Moroccan music played throughout the night as people celebrated the happy couple.  And the Moroccan food was aplenty. 

I discovered Moroccan flavour fairly recently and the flavours from last night's North African fare reminded me of a great recipe I have for a Moroccan inspired snack. The below recipe is the perfect healthy alternative to chips or any other salty crunchy snack.  You can make the spice blend for this recipe and save the rest in an air tight container to use when making roasted vegetables or rice (it's especially great when roasting butternut squash and carrots)

Crispy Moroccan Chickpeas

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. Moroccan Spice Mix
• sea salt to taste

Moroccan Spice Mix:

• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Drain and rinse chickpeas and pat dry with paper towel.  Toss chickpeas with olive oil, spice mix and salt. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for approx. 45 minutes or until they are slightly brown and rattle when you shake the baking sheet.  Let cool and serve.

Stinky Spice

No, I am not talking about one of the Spice Girls.  I am referring to cumin- oh how I love/loathe thee.

For the past six months or so, I have been cooking a lot of Mexican and Indian food.  This means that cumin has become a staple in my pantry.  This also means that four days a week, my condo smells of this stinky spice.

After making a delicious pot of chili last night, my place, and everything in it, reeked of cumin (and chili powder, of course).  Today I can still smell the stank of cumin.  It has embedded itself in my car, my clothes and even my purse.

I have a super-human sense of smell, so the rankness of cumin probably bothers me more than most.  But, I do love this stinky spice. So much so, that I will continue to walk around smelling like a bowl of chili for the next day or two.

Here is one of my favourite recipes using cumin.  I also love cilantro so this recipe has become a bi-weekly favourite. It's quick, easy and delicious!

Spicy Chickpeas with Beef and Cilantro:
Serves 3-4
Recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from The New York Times

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lbs of lean ground beef (I usually buy organic or beef that is free-from antibiotics)
• 2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, saving the liquid
• chicken broth (combine with the chickpea liquid to make 2 cups)
• 2 tbs EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder (or any other kind of chili powder you like)
• 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• S&P to taste
• Splash of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro (or more if you love it as much as I do)

Directions:
Drain chickpeas, saving liquid. Add chicken broth to the liquid to make 2 cups and set aside. Heat 1 tbs (or less) EVOO in a large fry pan, add beef and a splash of Worcestershire and saute until beef is browned.  Add the chickpeas and saute together with the beef until the chickpeas are well browned and starting to pop (about 10 minutes or so). Add cumin, chili powder and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chickpea liquid/broth, season with S&P.  Reduce heat and let simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated (approx. 10 minutes). Turn off heat, add cilantro and 1 tbs of EVOO. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.  I like to add a splash of habenero hot sauce to give it even more of a kick.  Serve hot and enjoy!