Soup is good food

Wanted something simple and light tonight, since I have yoga class later. I try to have something vegetarian or at least full of good earthy things on Tuesday nights. Don't always succeed, but I try. This is very, very good - the lemon juice does something wonderful to the mix of greens and lentils. Worth a try, even if you swear you don't like those odd, flat, green things in a bag.

Lebanese Lentil Soup

serves 6

1 cup dried green lentils
6 cups water
one bunch Swiss Chard
one large potato, peeled and diced
one large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
one bunch cilantro, chopped
2 Tb. olive oil
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup lemon juice

Cut the chard stems from the leaves. Chop both, keeping separate.

Put water and lentils into a heavy pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Add in chard stems, cover, and continue simmering.

After 20 minutes, add in potatoes and stir.

After another 20 minutes, add in the chard leaves and give another stir.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a pan and cook onion and garlic until tender and lightly golden. Add in cilantro, then take off the heat. Stir in salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Set aside.

Once the soup has cooked another 20 minutes (an hour total), add the onion/lemon juice mixture to the lentils and stir. Check for seasoning, then serve.