Forums: April 2011 Kickstart Forum: Adding something other than curry to lentil soup?
Created on: 04/06/11 02:40 PM Views: 5222 Replies: 25
greenish Joined: 03/31/11 Posts: 53	Adding something other than curry to lentil soup? Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 2:40 PM I'm planning on lentil soup for dinner. I'm not in the mood for curry though. Any suggestions for another flavor to add other than curry? Just looking for ideas.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072	RE: Adding something other than curry to lentil Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 2:43 PM greenish wrote: I'm planning on lentil soup for dinner. I'm not in the mood for curry though. Any suggestions for another flavor to add other than curry? Just looking for ideas. We usually use a bit of cumin and cayenne (or chili powder) in lentil soup. --Deb R
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gryphonpro Joined: 01/30/11 Location: Cape Breton, NS, Canada Posts: 239	RE: lentils without curry Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 2:52 PM Curry has cumin and hot pepper, plus a few other things depending on the cook, but I appreciated the question and hope others contribute. I sometimes get a bit of indigestion from curry, although I LOVE it, and I am just not sure which of the spices is the culprit. I suspect it might be the cumin. But almost everything you see with lentils is curry or similar. What other direction can we take, something totally different? I have a feeling that lentils with apple, onion and tarragon might be interesting. Are there any traditions around the world where you find lentils without curry? - madeline madeline yakimchuk Director: MEET IRENE - An Unlikely Vegan GRYPHON media productions www
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gryphonpro Joined: 01/30/11 Location: Cape Breton, NS, Canada Posts: 239	RE: lentils without curry Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 2:52 PM Curry has cumin and hot pepper, plus a few other things depending on the cook, but I appreciated the question and hope others contribute. I sometimes get a bit of indigestion from curry, although I LOVE it, and I am just not sure which of the spices is the culprit. I suspect it might be the cumin. But almost everything you see with lentils is curry or similar. What other direction can we take, something totally different? I have a feeling that lentils with apple, onion and tarragon might be interesting. Are there any traditions around the world where you find lentils without curry? - madeline madeline yakimchuk Director: MEET IRENE - An Unlikely Vegan GRYPHON media productions www
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072	RE: Adding something other than curry to lentil Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 3:01 PM Could probably use lentils in any bean soup type recipe - onion, celery, carrot, garlic, tomato. I'd bet if you did a search for vegan lentil recipes you'd find a bunch. --Deb R
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gryphonpro Joined: 01/30/11 Location: Cape Breton, NS, Canada Posts: 239	lentils without curry Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 3:03 PM Exactly, but most of them are curry in flavor. What about an alternate spicing strategy? - madeline madeline yakimchuk Director: MEET IRENE - An Unlikely Vegan GRYPHON media productions www
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gryphonpro Joined: 01/30/11 Location: Cape Breton, NS, Canada Posts: 239	lentils and tarragon search Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 3:06 PM Here's one: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=33796.0 but I googled lentils+tarragon to get at it. It would be way down the google list without that filter. So, ideas? madeline yakimchuk Director: MEET IRENE - An Unlikely Vegan GRYPHON media productions www
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072	RE: lentils without curry Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 3:11 PM gryphonpro wrote: Exactly, but most of them are curry in flavor. What about an alternate spicing strategy? - madeline The one I mentioned - onion, garlic, celery, carrot, tomato, lentils - is one we've done. Not a drop of curry listed there. Sometimes we'll make it thick and pour it over rice (the way a curry might be) but no curry in it - we rarely do "curry" with all the spices involved, but do use cumin and chili powder or cayenne a bunch. Just the garlic and onion makes a lovely combo. --Deb R
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Jill Eckart Joined: 12/26/09 Posts: 79	RE: Adding something other than curry Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 3:55 PM If you are skipping the curry, you could dump some nutritional yeast on top of the hot soup, it tastes great! Jill Eckart PCRM
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marge Joined: 09/08/10 Location: Seattle Posts: 211	RE: Adding something other than Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 4:21 PM how about a splash of vinegar after it's done or a squeeze of lemon?
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mommyof2nc Joined: 12/31/09 Location: North Carolina Posts: 172	French lentil soup Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 4:23 PM This is the recipe we use: http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/recipe.html?dishID=10270 I make it just like this except, obviously, use either veggie stock or water instead of chicken stock and then I leave the olive oil and chorizo out. Haven't found the soy chorizo yet, but if I do, I'll probably try that on it some day.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072	RE: French lentil soup Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 4:26 PM mommyof2nc wrote: This is the recipe we use: http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/recipe.html?dishID=10270 I make it just like this except, obviously, use either veggie stock or water instead of chicken stock and then I leave the olive oil and chorizo out. Haven't found the soy chorizo yet, but if I do, I'll probably try that on it some day. We found a wheat-based chorizo type sausage at the market we shop at locally (it's a vegetarian co-op market). We chopped it up into some pasta sauce and served over whole wheat pasta. It was tasty but expensive so that'll be an occasional treat (like maybe when we're having guests over) not a regular addition to the menus. --Deb R
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marge Joined: 09/08/10 Location: Seattle Posts: 211	RE: Adding something other than curry Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 4:30 PM I don't know if "Field Roast" is in your market, but if they are they make excellent "meaty" wheat products. They aren't inexpensive, nor low in calories.
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pippin Joined: 09/07/10 Posts: 175	Adding something other than curry to lentil soup? Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 4:33 PM I make the Alton Brown (Food Network) lentil soup. Easy to find on google. It is more of a West African flavor than a curry. It has cumin coriander, and grains of paradise. I also add a sprinkle of nutmeg for a touch of something something. I also add greens (spinach usually) at the end and wilt them into the soup. The grains of paradise aren't always easy to find, but if you use a bit of pepper and cardamom, you can replicate the flavor.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072	RE: Adding something other than curry Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 4:39 PM marge wrote: I don't know if "Field Roast" is in your market, but if they are they make excellent "meaty" wheat products. They aren't inexpensive, nor low in calories. That's the name of the company! They do a whole line of various wheat-based (no soy) meat like products including sausages and something akin to a roast. --Deb R
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marge Joined: 09/08/10 Location: Seattle Posts: 211	RE: Adding something other than curry Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 6:36 PM what are The grains of paradise ?
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pippin Joined: 09/07/10 Posts: 175	RE: Adding something other than curry to lentil so Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 7:21 PM Grains of paradise is a spice. Here is a definition I found on line. Grains of paradise Other Names: Alligator pepper; gawz as-Sudan (Arabic); graines de paradis (French); grani paradisi (Italian); Guinea grains; guineapfeffer or paradieskörner (German); idrifil (Turkish); korarima (Amharic); malagueta (Spanish); melegueta pepper; piperi melenketa (Greek). General Description: The small reddish brown seeds of grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) have a flavor like spicy, nutty black pepper, cardamom, and lemon, with woody and evergreen notes, a numbing quality, and a lingering camphor flavor. The seeds are about the size and shape of cardamom, and both are in the Zingiberaceae (ginger) family. Most grains of paradise are imported from Ghana. In that part of Africa, the seeds are chewed on cold days to warm the body. Grains of paradise were an important spice in fifteenth-century Europe, used as a pepper substitute. In the Renaissance, grains of paradise were common as beer flavoring. Today this spice is best known in North Africa, where it appears in the Moroccan spice mixture ras el hanout and Tunisian gâlat dagga.
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greenish Joined: 03/31/11 Posts: 53	RE: Adding something other than curry Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 7:49 PM Thanks for the suggestions! Some great ideas. I ended up having leftover beans and greens for dinner, but I'll probably be trying one of these ideas for tomorrow's dinner. And saving some of the other ideas to try the next time!
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mommyof2nc Joined: 12/31/09 Location: North Carolina Posts: 172	RE: French lentil soup Posted Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 9:05 AM Bugsmom wrote: mommyof2nc wrote: This is the recipe we use: http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/recipe.html?dishID=10270 I make it just like this except, obviously, use either veggie stock or water instead of chicken stock and then I leave the olive oil and chorizo out. Haven't found the soy chorizo yet, but if I do, I'll probably try that on it some day. We found a wheat-based chorizo type sausage at the market we shop at locally (it's a vegetarian co-op market). We chopped it up into some pasta sauce and served over whole wheat pasta. It was tasty but expensive so that'll be an occasional treat (like maybe when we're having guests over) not a regular addition to the menus. --Deb R Oh good - I'll look for the wheat-based one too next time I go to the natural foods store. The closest one is 25 minutes from my house, so I only go once or twice a month. Thanks for the suggestion. I don't buy vegan "meats" often because I do think they're expensive for what they are - plus, I just don't crave meat (never have, except during one of my pregnancies), so I'm not normally looking for a substitute.
	Edited 04/07/11 9:06 AM Quote | Send PM | Link | Top | Bottom
noellehaland Joined: 04/07/11 Posts: 1	Ideas for lentils Posted Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 9:38 AM If you're not a fan of cumin or curries, you can go in any number of directions with lentils. Some flavor combinations are: (1) Coriander instead of cumin, with or without ground sumac (a delicious, tart Turkish seasoning) (2)French flavors like tarragon, thyme and/or Herbes de Provence (3)Spanish/Moroccan flavors like sweet paprika, smoked paprika, and a tiny touch of cinnamon (4)Thai flavors like ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves (great with a touch of coconut milk at the end) (5) Good old oregano and basil, with or without a bay leaf (6) Some other spice blend you may have, such as Greek or Turkish seasonings I cook lentils and other beans and legumes all the time, and my basic method is to saute' a base of aromatics, including onions and garlic (always) and add other things if I have them, like celery, bell peppers and/or carrots, sometimes fresh ginger. I always saute' in at least a tiny bit of oil or you don't get the flavors out of the savories. I deglaze the pan with whatever I have around - veggie stock, white wine (especially with French flavors), red wine (especially with Italian or Spanish flavors). This picks up all that tasty fond on the bottom of the pan which gives your base a great flavor. I add spices after most of the aromatics have cooked down and I've deglazed the pan, and I tend to go heavy on the spices. Don't forget the liquid you add will dilute your flavors considerably, and make sure you taste as you go! Also, for variety and if you can find them, try French lentils. (I forget their other name?) They're smaller and hold their shape better than green or brown lentils, and have a really nice flavor. I tend to like these when I want more of a 'soup' consistency, but you can control whether it's 'soupy,' more 'stew-like,' or more of a thick bean consistency just by how much liquid you use. Can you tell we eat a LOT of lentils and beans?? Ha! I'm always trying to keep it interesting and change things up.
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