ROOTS & WINGS

18. Ratz-Fatz LINSENGERICHT (Lentil Soup)

The title of this one is derived from my very first Word Search about "The Weirdest Town Names in Germany" . One of the towns listed is Linsengericht in Hessia, a Bundesland in mid-south Germany.

The inspiration to create own – not necessarily weird – Word Searches was Cubby , and also WS-"crack", Ẃeβ࿚Ẃỉtcĥ , liked this particular "place"/dish.

So this is to a great part also for you, ladies!

And ratz-fatz is German for in a jiffy.

Okay, apart from my warped "humor" (and advertising), do you know the following situation?



You wanna eat something yummy, but not stand in the kitchen the whole day, and the Yum in the best case be something you've never had before and healthy?

Ta-DA! *Grand Gesture* Here it is. *bows*

However, there's a reason that, although I actually like lentils, I rarely eat them: they have "resounding" after effects. I think we can leave it at that.

BUT: they're also very healthy, FULL of essential nutrients, like: proteins, fiber, vitamins (here the important B-complex) and minerals (iron, magnesium, zinc), ...

Okay, I'll stop now, as I don't wanna bore you, but feed you!

Once more, I found this recipe in German Chef's Björn Freitag's cook book named after his TV-show Einfach & Köstlich (Simple and Delicious).

As mentioned already in the intro to "16. German "Arancini"" , I just adore his mix of Deutsche Hausmanskost (= German cuisine / home cooking) with a creative "twist", often "borrowed" from an international cuisine.

Like this one – I can rightly say that we're halfway to an Indian Veg Curry with this soup.

Ooooh, interested?

Then off to the kitchen – this is fixed in a jiffy, no joke!




Serves: 4 servings Recipe. But it gotta be starters as–; 2 servings Main courses for Me

Prep Time: 30-40 minutes

Degree of Difficulty: Easy




WE NEED

1 onion Red here.
1 garlic clove 2 here so the one isn't so alone.
1/2 red chili Adhered to that one; the other half goes into next week's Yum.
200 gr / 7 oz. pared red lentils
2 tbsp canola oil

1-2 tbsp Tandoori paste Didn't have that one at home but wanted to try it => so I mixed 2 tbsp natural sour cream with 1 heaped tbsp Tandoori spice. It wasn't a mistake.

400 ml / 1.75 US cups veg stock Try to find either organic, or the one with the shortest ingredients' list, because the shorter that is, the lesser UNhealthy ingredients.

200 ml / 6.75 US fl.oz. coconut milk
2-4 stalks coriander/cilantro If you fancy, and find it.
salt
1 pinch of sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice. I zested the lemon and pressed out the juice. I used them all in the soup, BUT: you can also put them in the fridge (separate!), and use them to spice other dishes, for baking, or using them up in smoothies



WE DO

1. Peel and finely chop onion + garlic. Deseed, wash and finely chop the chili. In a sieve, wash the lentils. Since red lentils are very small, just rinsing them with cold water's enough


2. Heat the canola oil on middle heat and gently sauté onion, garlic + chili. If wanted, add the Tandoori paste after 2-3 minutes and sauté it for 1-2 minutes, too. While the veg were sautéing, I mixed natural sour cream + tandoori spice and added it to the pot.


3. Add the lentils to the mix, then deglaze with veg stock + coconut milk.


4. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, occasionally stirring. I think here 4 main courses "shrank" to 2, as when the soup was finished, too much "liquid" had evaporated.


5. Season the soup with salt, sugar + lemon juice. If you use it, shower + shake dry the coriander/cilantro, remove bigger stalks, tear it into larger bits, and top the soup with it.


Guten Hunger!