Kathe's Lentil-Carrot Soup

Fans of this mighty soup hounded Kathe night and day for her recipe - and she entrusted it to CC Palate! Many thanks! 

The nutrition facts were designed at Calorie Count!

Adapted from a dog-eared Chatelaine recipe, take as many liberties as you choose with the ingredients. Make it yours and make it tomorrow!

Lentil-Carrot Soup

About 1 1/2 cups of red lentils
About 6 cups of stock or water - I usually use V8 for part of this
Ginger and garlic to taste - I use a couple of tsps. full of the mixed G&G paste, a brand called Aki - fresh is fine, of course
Spices: cumin, curry powder
A couple of bay leaves
A couple of onions, chopped
3 or 4 good-sized carrots, cut into uniform pieces
1 red pepper, cut into uniform pieces
A couple of stalks of celery, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

In a big soup pot, simmer the lentils in the stock/water/V8 with the ginger and garlic and spices for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop onions, carrots, red peppers and celery. Add to soup pot.

Simmer the whole lot for half an hour or so, until vegetables are tender and lentils have somewhat disappeared into the stock. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Soup freezes beautifully, so I often make a double batch. Easy to reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

Kathe's Enhanced Mushroom Chicken

Aromatic and savory with a hint of citrus, this elegant dish pairs beautifully with a simply dressed salad and a glass of white Burgundy. Enjoy.

The nutrition facts were designed at Calorie Count!

Kathe's Enhanced Mushroom Chicken or Poulet de Paris aux Champignons

Ingredients:

Serves 4 with leftovers (if you’re lucky)

1 pound chicken breasts (or 6 to 8 chicken parts of your choice – a mix of legs, thighs and breasts is fine. The calories were set using chicken breasts.)

1 8 oz package fresh white or brown mushrooms or a mix of the two

2 onions (white or red), sliced or cut into chunks

1 clove garlic, minced, or more to taste

1 tbsp. olive oil

½ cup orange juice

1 tbsp apricot jam

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Preparation:

Slice onions. Mince garlic. Slice mushrooms into uniform pieces.

Cooking:

Pour a little olive oil into the bottom of a large frying pan and heat on high setting. Sauté onions for a couple of minutes, then add garlic and keep stirring. Reduce heat to medium. When onions and garlic start to turn brown and smell wonderful, add mushrooms and continue cooking, stirring to make sure they don’t cook too quickly and burn.

Add a little orange juice and keep stirring. After about 5 minutes, move onions/mushrooms to side of pan and place chicken pieces in the middle of the pan, adding thickest pieces first. Sauté until brown. Turn over and brown on other side. You may need to add more orange juice. Blend in apricot jam and mustard and stir well.

Leave everything to simmer together for about 20 minutes or longer until chicken is cooked through (prick with a fork to make sure juices run clear). This will allow flavours to blend. Cover with lid or foil if you’re still working on the rest of the meal.

Serve with rice and vegetables and/or salad.

Note:

For a delicious variation and to make it an all-in-one dish you can throw in hand fulls of spinach about 3 minutes before it's done.