Continue cooking for 5 minutes, then transfer to a large baking dish. Crush the tomatoes with a fork, then stir in the olives, salt and a little pepper and the molasses. Cook over a moderate heat, partially covered with a lid, for 10 minutes until the tomatoes start to collapse and give out their juices. To make the sauce, roughly chop the tomatoes and put them in a saucepan with the olive oil. Set aside for at least a couple of hours in the fridge. Using your hands, roll the mixture into 12 large balls (you will get 12-14 balls at 75-80g a piece), placing them on a tray as you go. Finely chop the herbs and stir into the lentils and bulgur wheat, then set aside, covered with the lid for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and season generously with salt and black pepper. Lower the heat a little, partially cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes (there will be very little water left), then stir in the bulgur wheat. Pour in the vegetable stock, stirring, then bring to the boil and add the lentils. Add the yellow mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry powder and ground turmeric and continue cooking for a further 3 or 4 minutes until toasty and sticking to the pan. Peel and crush the garlic to a paste (I use a pestle and mortar) and stir into the onions. Warm the olive oil in a deep pan with a lid, add the onions and let them cook for 15 minutes over a moderately high heat, until pale and translucent, stirring regularly. It is important for the texture of the balls. Don’t ignore the resting time in the fridge. Lentil and bulgur wheat cakes, tomato and olive sauce The cupboard is now minus two jars of “bits” and I start to tidy the little deep freeze, finding enough peas to make a soup whose bright green notes fill us with hope for the new season. I fry them briefly on either side to give a crisp crust, then bake them in an easy, sweet-sour, tomato-olive sauce. I tinker with the timings, making sure they are both tender enough to press into a batch of soft, rissole-like cakes. The bulgur is the fine variety and ready in minutes the lentils are the tiny pale orange ones that fall quickly into a delicious purée. (A mixed lentil soup once ended up with chewy green ones in an orange lentil sludge.) So I decide to make little cakes from a mixture of bulgur wheat and lentils. Experience tells me that you mix such ingredients at your peril, as they all take differing times to cook. The small amounts in each jar are frustrating – obviously I am grateful, but also annoyed that there isn’t really enough of any one of them to make a single dish. There are dried chickpeas and butter beans, lentils and haricot, rice-like orzo and lentils of diminishing sizes. One of the narrow larder shelves is home to a collection of tightly stoppered jars of dry goods – the beige stuff that forms the base of hearty, cheap-as-chips dinners: couscous and mograbia, polenta and bulgur, both fine and coarse. Red pepper flakes will add a spicy kick.M id-March feels like a good time to tidy up, clearing the decks before spring arrives in the kitchen.Dried herb blends such as Italian seasoning or herbs de Provence.Fresh or dried herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano or marjoram. Here’s a few ideas of what you could add: This soup has a mild seasoning blend to it which I prefer (because it lets the flavor of the vegetables shine) but you can definitely add more herb flavor or spices to taste. This vegetable soup freezes really well and reheats well.Īdding Extra Flavor – Herbs And Spices To Add Add peas and corn during the last 30 minutes. Cook until veggies are tender on high heat about 3 hours or low heat about 6 – 7 hours. Add to slow cooker along with potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, herbs, broth, salt and pepper. To make it in a crockpot saute onions and carrots for a few minutes, add garlic saute 1 minute longer. I love that it uses half fresh veggies and half frozen so you still get all that freshness but have the ease of pre-cut frozen veggies too.ĭuring the summer when you have all the fresh veggies on hand definitely feel free to use all fresh instead. I had two bowls then came back before bed for a third because I liked it so much. This soup is jam packed with veggies and making it a healthy dinner choice.
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