← Nouns Cooking · Lebanese & Turkish

Ingredients

• 200 g brown or green lentils, rinsed
• 1.5 l Water
• 4 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes
• 300 g Swiss chard, stems sliced, leaves shredded
• 5 cloves Garlic
• 1 handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Ground coriander
• 2 Lemon, juiced (about 6 tbsp)
• 1½ tsp Salt

Method

1. Put the lentils and water in a large pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 min until they are starting to soften.
2. Meanwhile, cook the onion in 2 tbsp of the oil over medium heat for 6–8 min until golden. Tip it into the lentils with the potatoes and simmer for 10 min.
3. Add the chard stems and leaves and simmer for 8–10 min more, until the potatoes and lentils are tender.
4. Crush the garlic with the salt into a paste. Warm the remaining oil in a small pan over medium heat and fry the garlic and fresh coriander for 1 minute, until fragrant but not brown.
5. Stir the garlic mixture, cumin and ground coriander into the soup, take it off the heat and add the lemon juice. Taste: it should be properly tangy. Serve hot or warm with bread.

Tips

• Spinach works in place of chard; add it in the last 3 min.
• A spoonful of flour stirred into the garlic oil gives the slightly thicker texture some Lebanese families like (no longer gluten-free).

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Falasteeni Foodie Serious Eats