It’s that time of year again – yes, for soups! So here are two of my favorite go-to soups. I always keep dried split peas and lentils in my pantry because they do not need to be soaked overnight. They will cook up in an hour or so, depending on how you cook them. These soup recipes are easy, healthy and delicious, of course! They are high in fiber, protein and flavor. Oh and they are meat/dairy/oil/salt/gluten-free also…! A lot of my cooking is this way, so I add certain ingredients that add a lot of flavor: like carrot juice instead of oil (yes, carrot juice), Bragg’s Liquid Aminos instead of salt (it’s a low sodium version of soy or tamari sauce, but it doesn’t really taste like soy or tamari sauce), and lots of flavorful veggies (garlic, onions, mushrooms), veggies that have naturally-occurring sodium present in them, and therefore, full of flavor (carrots, celery, tomatoes) and salt-free seasonings and fresh herbs…you can adjust the amount of garlic and seasonings to your taste. You can substitute vegetable broth, celery juice or water instead of carrot juice. And I like to use my slow cooker so I don’t have to be watching the soup on the stove, but I’ve included directions for the stove-top method also.
This Split Pea Soup recipe is not a Dahl recipe, but I add some spices that remind me of some delicious Dahl I’ve eaten at restaurants. And for me this works for any color split peas: green, yellow, or red lentils. If you don’t want the Dahl flavor, simply omit the Vindaloo/curry seasoning.
Pam’s Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, minced
4 carrots, sliced
1 cubed potato with skin
2 tsps vindaloo seasoning or hot curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
2 cups dry split peas (rinsed)
1 cup carrot juice
3 cups water, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley
Slow Cooker Method:
Add all ingredients to slow cooker, set on high for 2 hours. Stir occasionally; add more water as needed, depending on how thick you like your soup. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot topped with freshly ground black pepper, and garnish with fresh parsley.
Stove-top method:
Saute garlic, onions, carrots in some of the carrot juice for about 5 minutes, add potatoes, seasonings, and rest of ingredients (and rest of carrot juice) except for parsley. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about one hour or until peas are as soft as you want them. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot with black pepper and parsley on top
OK - so now here’s a soup recipe that’s really close to the last one – like I said: easy, healthy, delicious, high fiber/protein, and meat/dairy/oil/salt/gluten-free.
Pam’s Lentil Soup
Ingredients
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, minced
1 package crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 tsps smoked paprika
2 tsps Adobo seasoning, salt-free
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
2 cups dry lentils (rinsed)
1 cup carrot juice
3 cups water, plus more as needed
2 cups fresh kale or spinach, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh cilantro
Slow Cooker Method:
Add all ingredients to slow cooker, set on high for 2 hours. Stir occasionally; add more water as needed, depending on how thick you like your soup. With 5-10 minutes left to cook, add the chopped greens (kale or spinach) to wilt (kale may take more time to wilt, spinach a little less). Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot topped with freshly ground black pepper, and garnish with fresh cilantro.
Stove-top method:
Saute garlic, onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery in some of the carrot juice for about 5 minutes, add tomatoes, seasonings, and rest of ingredients (and rest of carrot juice) except for kale, black pepper, cilantro. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about one hour or until lentils are as soft as you want them. Add in kale or spinach and wilt (about 2-5 minutes, kale may take more time to wilt, spinach a little less). Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve hot with black pepper, cilantro on top.
Enjoy and tell us how the soups come out!