Curried Lentil Soup with Fresh Greens

My most recent lentil love soup -- happily vegan, curried, and garnished with sunflower seeds and scallions.

Once, while visiting my sister, I said, "How about some lentil soup?"  knowing I was cooking dinner.   She shuddered and made as if to retch, all the while saying, "I love lentil soup, but..."  Turns out that years ago, when she was still cooking for her family, a very large and delicious kettle of the soup went uneaten by anyone except by her.  Days went by, the soup remained, she kept eating until....well, you might get the picture.  If you are not used to eating lentil soup (or bean soup or beans) every day for days on end, and you embark on such a journey, you might find you are in a tad of intestinal distress.  No one can fake-retch like my sister or show a horror of food quite like her; I wish I had a picture.  I made chicken noodle or asparagus--something else anyway. Maybe we went out?

Here's one of my oldest lentil soups.

Lentil-Wild Rice Soup with Kale and Sausage or Cleaning Out for Spring

There are moments when the seasons are about to begin changing that I start looking in the pantry, frig, and freezer and know it's time to use up a few things.   Today, this is what I saw:

•  A cup of green lentils.
•  4 frozen chicken sausages.
•  A bag of  frozen ham from Christmas.
• Lots of wild rice.
• Frozen small bag of tomato paste.  1/4 bottle white wine.
• Wilting parsley.
•   Lots of fresh kale.

Pork Tenderloin with Lentils and Vegetables

Festive fall food for the Solo Cook.  You probably don't want to cook a big pork loin and roasted vegetables (unless all the gang is coming,) but you might want to fix a smaller pork tenderloin and an all-in-one side brimming with legumes and sauteed vegetables that you can also take for lunches.  Sometimes in the summer I make a lentil salad and, while I was thinking about that salad, I came up with a colder weather version that's warm and inviting--despite the fact that there's still a bit of lemon juice squeezed in at the end.  Summer isn't that far away.

One of the beauties of this meal is that, if you want to, you can come home and fix it.  Pork tenderloin is a very fast meat to cook.  Seared on top of the stove and then roasted for a bit more, it's done in perhaps 20 minutes.  If that doesn't appeal, you can simply roast it for about 45 minutes at 350.  With the bacon wrap, I like the sear as it crisps the bacon right to the pork. 

To get this lovely meal out together, cook the lentils first and then begin browning the meat as you chop and saute the vegetables.  If one is done before the other, you've no worries.  The lentil-vegetable side will hold and reheat (and is good warm or cold with it's ending crunch of fresh carrots, etc.) and the meat has to rest anyway after roasting.  However you do it, you'll be happy.  I think so.  Did I mention leftover  the meat makes incredible tacos,  salads, omelet fillings, or sandwiches?  Or that this makes a tasty, easy Thanksgiving dinner for 2 or 3?  Let one friend bring pie and the other bring wine; you're set for the holiday.

Pork Tenderloin with Lentils and Vegetables 2-3 servings (plus lentil dish for lunches)

Vegetables:

1/2 pound lentils (any color), cooked and drained according to package directions --takes about 1/2 hour* 
3T olive oil, divided (1 to cook veg and 2 to drizzle on at end)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup each:  chopped eggplant, yellow squash, and zucchini (or green beans)
4 oz sliced mushrooms (1/2 a regular container)
1/4 cup   finely chopped red or green bell pepper
1/4 t each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (plus extra to taste)
Generous pinch of crushed red pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup basil julienne (thinly sliced)
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow pepper
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped carrots
3 sliced green onions (white and green parts)

Juice of one lemon

1. While lentils drain, heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat and add olive oil.  Saute onion, eggplant, squash, zucchini or green beans, mushrooms, and red or green pepper until softened--about 10 minutes.  Dust with salt and pepper and crushed red pepper.
2. Turn off heat and add parsley, basil, yellow pepper, tomatoes, carrots, and green onions.  Stir in lentils and don't cook any longer.  ( A bit of a reheat is ok--see below.)
3. Squeeze lemon juice over all and stir.
4. Drizzle on other 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Stir.
5. Taste and adjust seasonings.
6. Cover to keep warm until pork is finished .  You can reheat gently if you like.

Cooking the Pork: **

1 pork tenderloin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 slices best-quality bacon (I like Nueske's)
Toothpicks


Salt and pepper well the pork tenderloin and wrap it with the bacon pieces, securing ends with toothpicks.

  Meanwhile, heat a large, oven-proof skillet or heavy roasting pan over medium-high heat; add olive oil.  Place bacon-wrapped pork in the center of the pan. When the meat is very-well browned, turn and let brown on the other side. When that side is looking crispy, move the pan to the oven to finish cooking.  It may take another 15 minutes or so.  Using an instant-read thermometer, remove the skillet from the oven when the meat registers 150F.   I like it a bit rare and juicy; it will continue cooking.  Cover with aluminum foil for about 10 minutes before carving and serving.  Slice meat in 1/2"  pieces.  Place cut meat at the center of a large platter and surround with lentils and vegetables.


*Can cook lentils in the morning or night before.  Drain and refrigerate, tightly wrapped.  Spoon into the skillet with the cooked vegetables to warm through right before serving.

**These are directions I used for another blogpost in which the pork cooks just like this, but you also cook sliced fennel, onions, and apples right in the pan with the pork and then roast it all together in the oven.  That's nice, too--and mostly fallish!

Wine:  A Pinot Noir from Oregon.  Your choice, though I'm partial to Ken Wright pinots with meals like this.  Thanks, Ken.


Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce

Lentil Soup-Eat, Freeze and/or Share

Lentil soup for one (or more)

  I have a dear friend named Helen, with whom I've cooked many times. 

Helen makes a mean lentil soup and stirred up a pot of it one night at a beach house we had rented together.  The deal was this:  if you came for the week, you had to cook one night and clean up the others.  Except for one fine fellow, who appeared to be only in charge of libations.  Fine by me.  

Friend Suzy grilled fine tuna and stirred up some Italian beans and herbs to slip under the fish.  I think I made breakfast...,an egg casserole and cinnamon rolls.  But Helen made this soup and I watched her.  I came home and tried to duplicate and document the process, but I ended up with something different, of course.  Is it as good?  I'm not so sure, but you know everything tastes good at the beach.  Here's the soup, which with your changes/additions will become your own.  Work on it after you've made it once; add the vegetables you like and change or leave out the meat.