Greek Lentil Soup

from page 35

½ Cup Olive Oil

2 Quarts Water

1 Cup chopped Celery

1 Cup sliced Carrots

1 Cup chopped Onions

1 #303 can of Tomatoes

2 cloves of Garlic

1 teaspoon Oregano

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 lb. of Lentils

Cook all the vegetables with the seasonings in the water with oil.

Wash lentils and add them to the vegetables. Cook until lentils are tender.

When serving, add a little vinegar to taste.

Webmaster's Notes

• Red Lentils are an ingredient of the dish that Jacob once served Esau. I chose this dish, in part, because of its Biblical significance. 

• Balsamic Vinegar is especially good here. Even a little hot sauce is good here.

Recipe Update

The Webmaster has created his own version of this recipe, which consists of the following changes:

 1) Doubling the amount of Canned Tomatoes. This changes the character of this dish from soup to stew, especially when the lentils absorb most of the water.

 2) Adding a Teaspoon of Cumin. Cumin complements Oregano.

3) Adding ¼ - 1/3 cup of Balsamic Vinegar.  Make sure you use the less expensive and more sour Balsamic Vinegar. The sweeter and more expensive Balsamic Vinegars are meant for Deserts. While a trace of sweetness is good, bite is what is called for.

4) Adding 1-2 Teaspoons of Hot Sauce to taste. Mild Heat and Tang are what is called for here. The Webmaster prefers Pickapeppa Hot Red [ not Brown! ] Sauce for this recipe ( a preference, not an endorsement), which is hard to find but worth it. Any moderately hot red sauce will do.