Weeknight Dinner: Lentil Soup and Grilled Cheese
I've noticed that rarely does dinner time sneak up on us with the stealth it does in December. Errands beg to be run after work: a trip to an out-of-the-way part of town to pick up a special gift, a stop at a friend's home for eggnog and presents, an important visit to a local food- or clothing bank to volunteer time or donate goods. Office obligations take us away from our evenings as the group gathers at a local watering hole for festivities from formal (meaning the boss is paying, and watching) to informal (meaning someone forgot to share the details with everyone in the department). As we rush around fulfilling our holiday obligations, anything from the deejay breaking through the sugarplum music on the radio to the simpler, more direct rumble of our stomachs reminds us that dinner time is approaching.
I always like to keep simple dinner staples on hand, which is especially helpful during this busy season. Pasta is a classic staple for quick suppers, as are eggs. And, in this hemisphere, winter coincides with cold weather, which in my house means soup.
Nothing is simpler to prepare or more comforting to eat than a bowl of hot soup. And nothing is more comforting to prepare: something about the chopping, the sauteeing, the stirring, the seasoning forces one to focus. When we focus on the preparation of our food, it nourishes not just our bodies but our spirit.
I firmly believe that eating soup takes us back to the hearth, when dinner was whatever could be found and cooked in a vessel over an open fire. It meant so much more than sustenance: like the sun whose rays begin waxing at the winter solstice, it meant the promise of a tomorrow where food and warmth would be plentiful.
Since the winter holidays are about the promise of beginnings, serve your soup with the star attraction at the elementary school cafeteria: grilled cheese. This is the classic lunch lady version: crusty on the outside from a quick sear on a hot griddle, gooey in the middle with melty orange cheese. Go ahead and have two -- you still have time before your New Year's diet resolution kicks in.
LENTIL SOUP AND GRILLED CHEESE
Keep the staples for this meal in the pantry and, with one stop to pick up the sausage, you can always have dinner on the table in about an hour. Use homemade chicken stock if you have it but if not, a low-sodium supermarket brand works fine; I like Swanson's.
For the soup
3/4 pound Italian sausage
3 ribs celery
2 medium carrots
1 medium bunch kale
1 medium white onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup green lentils
5 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons sherry wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
Salt (Greek sea salt works well)
Freshly ground black pepper
Hot red pepper flakes
For the grilled cheese
Thinly sliced white bread
American cheese
Butter
1. Rinse the leafy tops of the kale under cool water and set aside on paper toweling to dry.
2. Align the celery stalks side by side on a cutting board; remove and discard the calloused tops and wide white root ends of the celery. Cut across the three stalks at quarter inch intervals to form half-moons. It is okay if some leafy tops remain. Scrape the cut celery into a colander.
3. Peel the carrots. Align them side by side on a cutting board. Remove and discard the tops and bottoms of the carrots. Cut across the two stocks at quarter inch intervals to form coins. Scrape the cut carrots into a colander.
4. Peel the onion and remove the root and stem ends. Halve the onion from root to stem; halve each half. Cut each quarter into crescents and then cut across the crescents to dice. Scrape the diced onions into a colander.
5. Rinse the vegetables in the colander and set aside to drain.
6. Drizzle a large soup or stock pot with a three count of olive oil. Set the heat to low.
7. Peel the garlic and remove the root end. Half each clove; remove and discard any sprouting from the center. Press the halves through a garlic press and add to the olive oil.
8. Remove the casing if any from the sausage. Use a sharp knife to score the sausage into small X's. Scrape into the pot with the cooking garlic.
9. Use a wooden spoon to begin breaking up the sausage. Check it periodically to continue breaking it up; this gets easier to do as the sausage cooks.
10. Once the sausage starts to brown, add the vegetables from the colander. Sprinkle with a two count of salt. Stir to combine. Put the lid on the pot.
11. While the vegetables and sausage are cooking, prepare the kale. Look over the bunch and remove any leaves that are yellowed or browned. Cut across the leafy tops (a bread knife works well) to remove the tops, which should be free from ribs; scrape cut kale into a bowl.
12. Use your fingers to pull the ruffled, leafy parts of the kale off of the ribs and add them to the bowl. Once you get a rhythm established, this task proceeds quickly.
13. After ten minutes, check the sausage and vegetables. Add 1/2 cup water if pot is getting dry. Continue cooking vegetables with sausage until carrots are soft and celery and onion are translucent, approximately five more minutes. Continue breaking up sausage as it cooks until it is in bite-sized pieces.
14. Add lentils, oregano, several grindings of fresh black pepper, and a pinch of hot red pepper flakes to the pot; stir to combine. Add chicken stock and sherry vinegar, stir thoroughly, and bring to a boil.
15. Once soup is boiling, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 -- 25 minutes, until vegetables and lentils are tender.
16. While soup is cooking, prepare grilled cheese sandwiches: for each sandwich, unwrap three slices of yellow American cheese. Place the three slices of cheese between two slices of white sandwich bread (I like Pepperidge Farm).
17. As soup is nearing serving time, set a non-stick frying pan over medium high. Turn the oven to "warm" / 175 degrees. Spray a length of aluminum foil with non-stick baking spray and lay the foil sprayed side up in the oven.
18. To prepare sandwiches, melt a pat of butter in the hot pan. Place a sandwich on the melted butter and place a pat of butter on the top of the sandwich. Use a heatproof spatula to press down on the sandwich; you will hear a slight sizzle when you exert the pressure as the bottom half of the sandwich cooks. When you start to see the cheese melt, flip the sandwich. As the pan heats, the sandwiches will start to cook quickly.
19. Once cooked, transfer each grilled cheese to the foil in the oven. Sandwiches will stay warm until served with hot soup.
I always like to keep simple dinner staples on hand, which is especially helpful during this busy season. Pasta is a classic staple for quick suppers, as are eggs. And, in this hemisphere, winter coincides with cold weather, which in my house means soup.
Nothing is simpler to prepare or more comforting to eat than a bowl of hot soup. And nothing is more comforting to prepare: something about the chopping, the sauteeing, the stirring, the seasoning forces one to focus. When we focus on the preparation of our food, it nourishes not just our bodies but our spirit.
I firmly believe that eating soup takes us back to the hearth, when dinner was whatever could be found and cooked in a vessel over an open fire. It meant so much more than sustenance: like the sun whose rays begin waxing at the winter solstice, it meant the promise of a tomorrow where food and warmth would be plentiful.
Since the winter holidays are about the promise of beginnings, serve your soup with the star attraction at the elementary school cafeteria: grilled cheese. This is the classic lunch lady version: crusty on the outside from a quick sear on a hot griddle, gooey in the middle with melty orange cheese. Go ahead and have two -- you still have time before your New Year's diet resolution kicks in.
LENTIL SOUP AND GRILLED CHEESE
Keep the staples for this meal in the pantry and, with one stop to pick up the sausage, you can always have dinner on the table in about an hour. Use homemade chicken stock if you have it but if not, a low-sodium supermarket brand works fine; I like Swanson's.
For the soup
3/4 pound Italian sausage
3 ribs celery
2 medium carrots
1 medium bunch kale
1 medium white onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup green lentils
5 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons sherry wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
Salt (Greek sea salt works well)
Freshly ground black pepper
Hot red pepper flakes
For the grilled cheese
Thinly sliced white bread
American cheese
Butter
1. Rinse the leafy tops of the kale under cool water and set aside on paper toweling to dry.
2. Align the celery stalks side by side on a cutting board; remove and discard the calloused tops and wide white root ends of the celery. Cut across the three stalks at quarter inch intervals to form half-moons. It is okay if some leafy tops remain. Scrape the cut celery into a colander.
3. Peel the carrots. Align them side by side on a cutting board. Remove and discard the tops and bottoms of the carrots. Cut across the two stocks at quarter inch intervals to form coins. Scrape the cut carrots into a colander.
4. Peel the onion and remove the root and stem ends. Halve the onion from root to stem; halve each half. Cut each quarter into crescents and then cut across the crescents to dice. Scrape the diced onions into a colander.
5. Rinse the vegetables in the colander and set aside to drain.
6. Drizzle a large soup or stock pot with a three count of olive oil. Set the heat to low.
7. Peel the garlic and remove the root end. Half each clove; remove and discard any sprouting from the center. Press the halves through a garlic press and add to the olive oil.
8. Remove the casing if any from the sausage. Use a sharp knife to score the sausage into small X's. Scrape into the pot with the cooking garlic.
9. Use a wooden spoon to begin breaking up the sausage. Check it periodically to continue breaking it up; this gets easier to do as the sausage cooks.
10. Once the sausage starts to brown, add the vegetables from the colander. Sprinkle with a two count of salt. Stir to combine. Put the lid on the pot.
11. While the vegetables and sausage are cooking, prepare the kale. Look over the bunch and remove any leaves that are yellowed or browned. Cut across the leafy tops (a bread knife works well) to remove the tops, which should be free from ribs; scrape cut kale into a bowl.
12. Use your fingers to pull the ruffled, leafy parts of the kale off of the ribs and add them to the bowl. Once you get a rhythm established, this task proceeds quickly.
13. After ten minutes, check the sausage and vegetables. Add 1/2 cup water if pot is getting dry. Continue cooking vegetables with sausage until carrots are soft and celery and onion are translucent, approximately five more minutes. Continue breaking up sausage as it cooks until it is in bite-sized pieces.
14. Add lentils, oregano, several grindings of fresh black pepper, and a pinch of hot red pepper flakes to the pot; stir to combine. Add chicken stock and sherry vinegar, stir thoroughly, and bring to a boil.
15. Once soup is boiling, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 -- 25 minutes, until vegetables and lentils are tender.
16. While soup is cooking, prepare grilled cheese sandwiches: for each sandwich, unwrap three slices of yellow American cheese. Place the three slices of cheese between two slices of white sandwich bread (I like Pepperidge Farm).
17. As soup is nearing serving time, set a non-stick frying pan over medium high. Turn the oven to "warm" / 175 degrees. Spray a length of aluminum foil with non-stick baking spray and lay the foil sprayed side up in the oven.
18. To prepare sandwiches, melt a pat of butter in the hot pan. Place a sandwich on the melted butter and place a pat of butter on the top of the sandwich. Use a heatproof spatula to press down on the sandwich; you will hear a slight sizzle when you exert the pressure as the bottom half of the sandwich cooks. When you start to see the cheese melt, flip the sandwich. As the pan heats, the sandwiches will start to cook quickly.
19. Once cooked, transfer each grilled cheese to the foil in the oven. Sandwiches will stay warm until served with hot soup.
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