Lentil potage

Lentil potage is just a thick soup rich in vegetable-protein.

Strong research indicates that most of us should increase the amount of protein we are eating, and the we should get it especially from vegetable-sources.

It is not necessary to become a vegetarian obviously, but simply enjoy more legumes in our food. Mostly they have little or no flavour so the trick is to spice them up.

Lentil potage.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 onion coarsely-chopped
  • 1 green-pepper
  • 1 whole bulb of garlic
  • 1 TBSP paprika, 4 peppadews or 1 chili
  • 1 TBSP of freshly-roasted cumin
  • 3 very-ripe tomatoes
  • A large handful of cilantro (green-coriander)
  • Another handful of parsley
  • 1 cup of washed-lentils, picked for stones
  • Root-vegetables such as carrots, new or sweet potatoes
  • Other vegetables such a butternut and zucchini
  • Large pile of fresh-greens such as spinach, kale and rocket
  • 1 diced kassler-chop

Spuds from cold storage alas are highly glycemic; that means that they raise our blood-glucose. If we are also enjoying a lot of refined carbs and sugary drinks then within twenty-years we are likely to become diabetic.

New potatoes recently raised from the ground have much less of an effect on blood-glucose but because they don't keep they are more expensive; they are thus also less fattening and we can enjoy them without guilt. In any event nothing is more costly to our wellness than being first prediabetic and then having the disease frankly.

The best alternative is to grow your own potatoes and harvest your needs from the garden perhaps two or three-times a week.

Go for it

The sofrito

Basic sofrito for lentil potage.
  1. Gently fry the onion in butter until it has caramelized.
  2. De-seed the peppers and the chili if you are using one.
  3. Add the tomatoes, peppers and cilantro to the onion and simmer for five-minutes; the garlic and spices too.

Lentil potage

Sofrito and lentils.
  1. Add the lentils and 1 cup of water, more if you prefer a thinner-potage.
  2. Add the rest of the vegetables and the optional-meat.
  3. Ideally pressure-cook for 15 minutes, just because it saves you time, and electricity too.
  4. Or 30-minutes in a large pot.
  5. Add the greens and parsley and continue to simmer for another five-minutes. Add more water to gain the consistency you like.
Greens on lentil potage.

Lentil potage can equally be enjoyed by the meat-lover by adding a pork sausage or kassler chop.

Anti-nutrients

Some folk are concerned about the anti-nutrients such as phytates in dried legumes. Frankly it doesn't worry me at all. You could easily substitute the lentil potage with say green beans, scarlet runners or favas which have less of these pesky substances.

To completely avoid anti-nutrients you have to go without many excellent foods like dried beans, nuts and whole grains that have a proven record of improving our well-being. Can you imagine giving up on spinach and kale, lentils and almonds for ever?

That's what the anti-nutrient brigade would have you do.

But we do generally try to choose green-legumes over those that have been dried, given the option.

I've never seen green lentils, nor do I think it necessary to avoid all anti-nutrients. An alimentary-canal with a normal complement of bugs in the microbiome handles them for the majority of us with ease.

But that is assuming your are enjoying some fermented-foods or a probiotic just as kefir on a regular basis.

If that were not the case all vegetarians would be desperately ill people but in fact they are more likely to be well and strong.

How to make kefir is not rocket science; it takes me five-minutes twice a week.

This fermented peppadew-sauce is one of our our favourites.

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