lentil chard soup with a drizzle of olive oil & some peppersoup prep
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 is an adaptation of a recipe in Angela Liddon’s The Oh She Glows Cookbook. Among other changes, the original has no cauliflower, uses chickpeas instead of black beans, uses less peanut butter, and has a different order of cooking. We tried the original first, and it was good, too, but my family prefers this adaptation.
Ingredients
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1-2 onions (red if you have them, any kind is fine)
4-6 cloves garlic
1-2 T chili powder
1/2 t cayenne
2 large (798mL) cans diced tomatoes, with their juices
3 sweet peppers (red, orange, yellow if you can get them)
1 jalapeño
2 medium to large sweet potatoes (~500g)
about half a large head of cauliflower (~500g)
salt & pepper
about 225g peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, peanuts only, no sugar or salt)
about 1.5-2L broth or stock (vegetable or chicken)
Have chili powder and cayenne ready to go in with garlic (bowl/group B)
Dice peppers, sweet & jalapeño (bowl/group C)
Scrub or peel sweet potatoes (peel if you just can’t get them clean, but the peel is good so leave it on if it’s ok)
Chop sweet potatoes into cubes (bowl/group C)
Chop or tear cauliflower into small bites (bowl/group C)
Open cans of tomatoes (bowl/group C)
Cook:
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add bowl/group A (onion) and a pinch of salt.
Sauté until onion is translucent.
Reduce heat to medium-low.
Add bowl/group B (garlic, spices) and a pinch of salt, stir for a minute or so.
Pour in a bit of the liquid from a can of tomatoes and scrape up any browned bits.
Add the rest of bowl/group C (tomatoes with their juices, peppers, cauliflower, sweet potato), a pinch of salt, and several grinds of pepper.
Increase heat to medium-high.
While the pot is starting to heat up, mix peanut butter with about a cup of broth/stock. (You can do this by whisking them together in a bowl or a tall liquid measure, or shaking them in a jar. I recommend the jar method, especially if you are using chunky peanut butter.)
Add the rest of the broth/stock to the pot and bring it to a boil. (This will be faster if you cover the pot.)
Once the pot has come to a boil, reduce heat to low.
Add peanut butter-broth mixture to the pot.
Simmer for about 15 minutes, until sweet potato and cauliflower are tender.
Add black beans and greens to the pot.
Season with salt & pepper to taste.
When greens are wilted and everything is heated through, serve with chopped herbs (cilantro or parsley) and roasted peanuts.
Yield
~30 cups, or 15 servings
Notes
Made with 6 c beans and 2L broth/stock, this usually works out to about 30 cups total stew, with a 2-cup serving having 260 calories, 35g CHO, 10g fibre, 12.5g protein, 9g fat. Exact nutrition will depend on your own choices of how much of each ingredient you actually put in.
This freezes reasonably well, though the peppers’ texture will change a little. Unfrozen, leftovers keep well in the fridge for at least 4-5 days. Leftovers get eaten quickly here as it’s a family favourite.
You can serve this over rice if you like rice. My kids love it this way. I’ve also mixed cooked quinoa (1 cup dry) right in, and that was great.
This is one of our family’s absolute favourites. When we have lots of leftovers on offer for hot lunches, this is often the dish that gets eaten first. I prefer it vegetarian; the rest of the family prefers it with a little leftover sausage to really bring out its close-to-cassoulet flavour. This is an adaptation of Bean & Barley Soup from Eating Well.
Ingredients
1 T olive oil
Group 1
2 large onions, chopped
a head of garlic, minced
4-8 stalks celery, chopped
2 t fennel seed (or substitute a bulb or two of fennel for some of the celery)
3-4 medium carrots, chopped (optional)
a pinch of salt
Group 2
6 c cooked white beans (canned is fine, you will need 3 standard 15-oz cans)
2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes
~8 cups vegetable or chicken stock or broth
1.5 c barley
a pinch of salt
Group 3
lots of greens; e.g., 500g frozen kale or 300g fresh baby spinach
a big handful of fresh basil (frozen fresh basil works beautifully)
cooked sausage, bacon, ham, etc. (optional)
a pinch of salt
Garnish
grated parmesan (optional)
freshly ground pepper
Directions
Sauté group 1 in olive oil for 6-8 minutes in a large soup pot.
Mash 1 cup of the beans, then add group 2 to the pot. Cover, bring to a boil, then simmer until barley is tender, about 15-25 minutes depending on type of barley and how aggressively the pot is simmering.
Stir in group 3 and cook a few minutes until greens are cooked through and still bright green (about 3 minutes for frozen kale, more like 1 minute for fresh baby spinach.)
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Garnish with grated parmesan, if desired, and pepper.
Yield
Makes about 30 1-cup scoops, or about 15 servings.
Notes
Made with carrots included, 2L broth/stock, and no optional sausage last time, this worked out to about 30 cups total stew, with a 2-cup serving having 226 calories, 48.2 g CHO, 12.5 g fibre, 11.8 g protein, 2 g fat. Exact nutrition will depend on your own choices of how much of each ingredient you actually put in.
This freezes very well. Leftovers also keep well in the fridge for at least 4-5 days.
This is a huge favourite in our family. It requires pre-cooked or canned beans and a bit of chopping, but is otherwise extremely easy to make. This is an adaptation of Easy Vegetarian Chili from Eating Well.
bean chili with grated cheddar and cilantro
Ingredients
1 T extra virgin olive oil
starting vegetables
1-2 onions, chopped
2-3 sweet peppers, chopped
4-10 cloves garlic, minced
4-8 stalks celery, chopped
spices
1/4 c chili powder
2 T ground cumin
some ground coriander (you can get away with a small amount if ground fresh, use 1-2 t if you bought it ground)
about 4 t total of a mix of dried oregano, parsley, and basil (depending on taste and availability)
several generous sprinkles chipotle powder (if chipotle powder is not available, use 1/4 to 1/2 t cayenne) (optional but recommended)
1 t Aleppo pepper (optional but recommended)
salt & pepper
beans, corn, tomatoes
2-3 L (8-12 c) cooked beans (a mix we like is about 1.2 L white beans, 1.2 L black beans, and perhaps some black-eyed peas and chickpeas; canned is fine, I cook dried beans ahead of time in an instant pot)
kernels from 3 cobs corn, cooked (optional but recommended)
2 large (798 mL or 28 oz) cans diced tomatoes in their juice
leafy greens
about 8 c leafy greens (spinach, kale, etc.)
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Sauté starting vegetables 6-8 minutes.
Add spices, sauté for another 30 seconds or so.
Add beans, corn, tomatoes.
Reduce heat to low, simmer until heated (5-10 minutes) and then as long as you want (another hour or two). Longer simmering helps the flavours meld but is not strictly necessary.
Add greens and let them wilt.
Season again with salt & pepper to taste.
Serve with grated cheddar cheese if you like cheese.
Yield
~24 cups, which makes 24 small servings or 10-12 large servings
Notes
Last time I made this, I used 3 L of beans (a mix of black and white), the total recipe made 23 cups, and a 1-cup serving had: 163 calories, 30 g CHO, 9 g fibre, 9 g protein, 1 g fat. Exact nutrition will depend on your own choices of how much of each ingredient you actually put in. (Also note that my husband believes that servings of this should be 2-3 cups, not 1 cup. He is a big, big fan.)
This freezes well. The peppers’ texture will change a little, but it doesn’t seem to matter in chili. Unfrozen, leftovers keep well in the fridge for a few days.
