I am in the midst of what will be a multi-month process of moving out of the house I raised my children in. This is complicated on so many levels, but one theme I have been pursuing is to use up what is in my pantry--to reduce the things that I have on hand over this period of time, and what doesn't get used, we should donate to the food pantry and give someone else a chance to use it up.
So that is how I come to using up the brown lentils that I have. I prefer the French green lentils. So, while the green lentils come and go in my pantry, the brown lentils remain unused. The green lentils have a wonderful, complex earthy flavor that I add a little thyme to the soup, but over all, they are flavorful enough that I do little to them.
However, in my 'new leaf' phase, I want to use those brown lentils up, and I want to enjoy them. So I came up with a soup, and it worked. I combated the flavor issue by using the lentils more for texture than flavor. Here is the soup:
6 cups stock
1 1/2 c. lentils
1 onion chopped
3 gloves garlic minced
6-8 roasted green chilis, diced
3 c. corn
salt to taste
I combined the first four ingredients into a stock pot, and simmered for a couple of hours--then added the green chilis and corn (both of which I froze this summer). The soup is intensely chili flavored, which is delicious, and the lentils add an earthiness to the soup that works.
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