Spring has been cold and wet here in the San Francisco Bay Area - more
like our usual winters: 7 weeks of rain with no break. The weather has
eased up a little in the last week to ten days, but today was overcast
and chillier than normal - again.

So once again, for the 4th week in a row, I made lentil soup in the
pressure cooker. And once again, this is a very loose recipe - basic
cooking skills assumed, use your judgement on how much olive oil, salt
& pepper, seasonings, etc.


Ingredients:

Olive oil
One onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 or 2 carrots, chopped
Chopped garlic - 1, 2 or 3 cloves - your choice
Two small or one large potato, diced
2 cups brown or green lentils, picked over and rinsed*
One 14 oz. can tomatoes (chopped or not, basil or not)
Bay leaf
7 cups water
Herbs - your choice
(Lemon juice or vinegar) (optional)
(spinach or other greens) (optional)
(Parmesan or other cheese for sprinkling) (optional)
(sausage or ham) (optional)


Sautee onion in at least one tablespoon olive oil in the base of the
pressure cooker. Add celery, garlic, carrots; sautee until onion is
softened. Add potato, lentils, tomatoes, bay leaf, water, and a fat
pinch of dried thyme; may also add basil and/or oregano. Lock down
pressure cooker, bring to pressure and cook for time indicated in your
manual for lentils. I usually do 12 or 13 minutes.

Let pressure come down naturally, open cooker, add salt to taste
(you'll need plenty) and pepper. Stir and serve sprinkled with cheese.
May also add another drizzle of extra virgin cold pressed olive oil at
the table.

Optional ingredients - shorten pressure cooking time by 2-3 minutes,
and bring down pressure quickly as described in your manual (i.e. run
cold water over the lid, or whatever you do). Add spinach or other
greens, let cook with lid off until greens wilt; or you may add fully
cooked sausage or bits of cooked, chopped ham.

The lemon juice - at least half a lemon - adds tang and brings out the
flavors, especially with the spinach variation. Not so good with ham
IMHO.

This recipe is endlessly elastic; whatever veggies you have around are
usually good in it; of course short cooking veg should go in at the end
of the pressure cooking (for instance zucchini). If you have a leftover
ham or lamb bone with bits of meat on it, put that in with the uncooked
lentils. Without the meat (or cheese) this recipe is suitable for your
vegan friends and relations.

Leila

*Lentils - don't use the tiny French puy lentils or red split lentils
in the pressure cooker recipe. They are too small, might clog the
valve, and cook too quickly. If you like those lentils, (and I do) cook
'em in a regular pot. Google for my Egyptian Red Lentil Soup recipe -
it's all over the internet, it's really Claudia Roden's, and it's
excellent and easy. Can be vegan as well.

Leila wrote:

> Spring has been cold and wet here in the San Francisco Bay Area - more
> like our usual winters: 7 weeks of rain with no break. The weather has
> eased up a little in the last week to ten days, but today was overcast
> and chillier than normal - again.
>
> So once again, for the 4th week in a row, I made lentil soup in the
> pressure cooker. And once again, this is a very loose recipe - basic
> cooking skills assumed, use your judgement on how much olive oil, salt
> & pepper, seasonings, etc.
>
>
> Ingredients:
>
> Olive oil
> One onion, chopped
> 2 stalks celery, chopped
> 1 or 2 carrots, chopped
> Chopped garlic - 1, 2 or 3 cloves - your choice
> Two small or one large potato, diced
> 2 cups brown or green lentils, picked over and rinsed*
> One 14 oz. can tomatoes (chopped or not, basil or not)
> Bay leaf
> 7 cups water
> Herbs - your choice
> (Lemon juice or vinegar) (optional)
> (spinach or other greens) (optional)
> (Parmesan or other cheese for sprinkling) (optional)
> (sausage or ham) (optional)
>
>
> Sautee onion in at least one tablespoon olive oil in the base of the
> pressure cooker. Add celery, garlic, carrots; sautee until onion is
> softened. Add potato, lentils, tomatoes, bay leaf, water, and a fat
> pinch of dried thyme; may also add basil and/or oregano. Lock down
> pressure cooker, bring to pressure and cook for time indicated in your
> manual for lentils. I usually do 12 or 13 minutes.
>
> Let pressure come down naturally, open cooker, add salt to taste
> (you'll need plenty) and pepper. Stir and serve sprinkled with cheese.
> May also add another drizzle of extra virgin cold pressed olive oil at
> the table.
>
> Optional ingredients - shorten pressure cooking time by 2-3 minutes,
> and bring down pressure quickly as described in your manual (i.e. run
> cold water over the lid, or whatever you do). Add spinach or other
> greens, let cook with lid off until greens wilt; or you may add fully
> cooked sausage or bits of cooked, chopped ham.
>
> The lemon juice - at least half a lemon - adds tang and brings out the
> flavors, especially with the spinach variation. Not so good with ham
> IMHO.
>
> This recipe is endlessly elastic; whatever veggies you have around are
> usually good in it; of course short cooking veg should go in at the end
> of the pressure cooking (for instance zucchini). If you have a leftover
> ham or lamb bone with bits of meat on it, put that in with the uncooked
> lentils. Without the meat (or cheese) this recipe is suitable for your
> vegan friends and relations.
>
> Leila
>
> *Lentils - don't use the tiny French puy lentils or red split lentils
> in the pressure cooker recipe. They are too small, might clog the
> valve, and cook too quickly. If you like those lentils, (and I do) cook
> 'em in a regular pot. Google for my Egyptian Red Lentil Soup recipe -
> it's all over the internet, it's really Claudia Roden's, and it's
> excellent and easy. Can be vegan as well.
>

Sounds good, but I'd not use water.
I'd use pork or chicken stock. :-)

Om

OmManiPadmiOmelet wrote:
> Leila wrote:
>
>> Ingredients:
>>
>> Olive oil
>> One onion, chopped
>> 2 stalks celery, chopped
>> 1 or 2 carrots, chopped
>> Chopped garlic - 1, 2 or 3 cloves - your choice
>> Two small or one large potato, diced
>> 2 cups brown or green lentils, picked over and rinsed*
>> One 14 oz. can tomatoes (chopped or not, basil or not)
>> Bay leaf
>> 7 cups water
>> Herbs - your choice
>> (Lemon juice or vinegar) (optional)
>> (spinach or other greens) (optional)
>> (Parmesan or other cheese for sprinkling) (optional)
>> (sausage or ham) (optional)
>>
>
> Sounds good, but I'd not use water.
> I'd use pork or chicken stock. :-)
>
> Om

Yeah, but then you couldn't adapt it to be vegan should you wish to. I
wouldn't want to but others might want to.

Jill

jmcquown wrote:

> OmManiPadmiOmelet wrote:
>
>>Leila wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Ingredients:
>>>
>>>Olive oil
>>>One onion, chopped
>>>2 stalks celery, chopped
>>>1 or 2 carrots, chopped
>>>Chopped garlic - 1, 2 or 3 cloves - your choice
>>>Two small or one large potato, diced
>>>2 cups brown or green lentils, picked over and rinsed*
>>>One 14 oz. can tomatoes (chopped or not, basil or not)
>>>Bay leaf
>>>7 cups water
>>>Herbs - your choice
>>>(Lemon juice or vinegar) (optional)
>>>(spinach or other greens) (optional)
>>>(Parmesan or other cheese for sprinkling) (optional)
>>>(sausage or ham) (optional)
>>>
>>
>>Sounds good, but I'd not use water.
>>I'd use pork or chicken stock. :-)
>>
>>Om
>
>
> Yeah, but then you couldn't adapt it to be vegan should you wish to. I
> wouldn't want to but others might want to.
>
> Jill
>
>

Yes, it could be adapted.
Use a veggie stock...... ;-)