Tonight - a rather cold and drizzly evening - I was able to host a relaxed dinner in a snap! I tried a new dish, which was a lovely lamb and lentil soup. Just perfect for these late autumn evenings!
My guest - the lady in the blue trench - described the soup as "warm, comforting ... with a little bit of bite!"
Here's how you can enjoy this hearty soup at your place:
1. Preheat the slow cooker, setting it on high.
2. Brown four lamb shanks in a frying pan in a little oil.
3. Meanwhile, in the slow cooker, with a little olive oil, add a roughly chopped brown onion with a teaspoon of crushed garlic and the ground herbs: 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp ground coriander; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 1/2 tsp ground cloves; a dash of paprika; and as many or as few dried chilli flakes as you like. Stir all together.
4. Add 4 or so chopped celery stalks to the slow cooker, with two chopped carrots.
5. Next, add a can of diced tomatoes and some tomato paste. From the just boiled kettle, fill the now empty tomato can and add that amount of water to the slow cooker.
6. Then in go a few bay leaves and a beef stock cube. Salt and pepper as you like.
7. Next, stir in about a cup of rinsed brown lentils.
8. The lamb shanks should be ready to pop in now. The slow cooker may be close to full, so just monitor how much liquid you add at step 5.
9. Pop the lid on the slow cooker and turn it down to low if you are leaving it on overnight or during the day while you are at work (roughly 8-9 hours).
10. After the cooking time, pull out the lamb shanks and shred the meat from the bones (it should be very tender) and discard the bones, returning the shredded meat to the slow cooker.
To serve, I topped generous helpings of this exciting soup with natural Greek yoghurt and fresh coriander, and I toasted fingers of Turkish bread to enjoy with delicious hummus on the side. A little mid-week gem!
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