This was a huge hit with the whole family, including the youngest, who eats greens (along with pretty much anything else he is served) but does not love them the way the rest of us do. This recipe was especially useful when the garden was overflowing with red chard one year. It is an adaptation of Lemony Lentil & Chard Soup by Eating Well, which was good as written, but we wanted a bit more flavour and to make use of the chard stems.
Ingredients
Group 1
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- chopped stems from Swiss chard (red chard is especially pretty)
Group 2
- 6-10 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T cumin
- 1/2-1 t Aleppo pepper (if you don’t have or can’t find it, I’d try 1/2 t chili flakes)
- 1/2 t sumac (if you don’t have or can’t find it, I’d leave it out and consider adding extra lemon juice at the end)
Group 3
- 8 c vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 c red lentils, rinsed and picked over
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1.5 t kosher salt
Group 4
- 1/2 c lemon juice (~2 large, 3 medium, or 4 small lemons)
- chard leaves, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Group 5
- extra Aleppo pepper for serving
- salt & pepper
Directions
- Sauté group 1 for 8-12 minutes.
- Add group 2, sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add group 3, bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are cooked, about 20 minutes.
- Stir in group 4 and cook until leaves are tender.
- Sprinkle group 5 over and serve.
Yield
~15 cups, or about 7.5 servings
Notes
Each 2-cup serving has 141 calories, 20.5g CHO, 4.4g fibre, 7.5g protein, 3.6g fat.
This freezes and reheats beautifully.