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I have been making this soup for … a long time.
I was just a kid when I picked out Sunset Vegetarian Cooking in 1981. I was mystified by the loaf thing on the cover. By the carob-orange cake recipe. By the spinach enchiladas made with cream of mushroom soup.
I didn't do much cooking from that book as a kid. But I still have one single page from the cookbook: the recipe for Lemony Lentil Soup with chard. It was one of the first things I ever decided I liked and wanted to cook. It was my go-to bowl of soup during college, and for the 10 years I was a strict vegetarian thereafter.
One person I served it to told me it was very Lebanese, so I looked it up and -- she was right. I found recipes for it here and there and everywhere.
Even though I'm an omnivore now, there's nothing I'd change -- no chicken stock, no bacon. I've switched to my favorite potato as I like a slightly more falling-apart potato texture, and I've added a bit more cumin. This soup tastes like things that come from the earth: lentils and potatoes and chard. It marries the funk of cumin to the zip of lemon. It's hearty. I like it with a beer and a hunk of sourdough bread. It freezes well, too.
Lemony Lentil Soup
Adapted from my memory of Sunset Vegetarian Cooking: Nutritious Recipes With Flavor & Imagination
2 bunches chard (rainbow, red, or Swiss), stems discarded, leaves cut into half-inch ribbons
1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed, drained and picked over
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (or other medium-textured potato, or red potatoes if you like them firmer), cut into quarters
8 cups water
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Add lentils to soup pot and cover with 8 cups water. Bring to boil over high heat.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
In small skillet, heat olive oil over high heat until shimmering and add onion. Turn heat to medium and cook until onions are very soft and golden brown with darker brown edges. Add garlic and cumin and sauté for 1 minute more. Turn off heat and mix in cilantro.
Add potatoes to the lentils and simmer 15 minutes more. Mix in onion-cumin-garlic-cilantro stuff and check tenderness of lentils and potatoes. If they're tender, take soup off heat. If they're still not quite, simmer for another 5-10 minutes, checking for doneness once or twice.
Off heat, stir in salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Serve hot.
