Vegan Garlic Lentil Thing

A friend of mine raved about this Salmon with Lentils recipe from Ina Garten, so I decided to make it. Without the salmon. And leaving out ingredients I didn't happen to have lying around.

• 1⁄2 pound green lentils (it called for French lentils, but I am a patriot)
• Olive oil
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 tsp thyme (it called for fresh, but I used dried)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
•  4 chopped carrots (it called for carrots and celery but I didn't have celery, so I just used extra carrots)
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (Ina specifically called for "good red wine vinegar," but I didn't have any red wine vinegar. Also, I'm not sure if my balsamic vinegar is good. It's probably just "average.")

This was pretty cheap vinegar, but it does appear to have survived a volcanic eruption.

 Anyway. First, soak the lentils in boiling water for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, start cooking the onion with the oil, thyme, and salt & pepper until the onion turns clear. Then throw in the garlic for 2 more minutes.

Then drain the lentils and add them to the pan. Then add everything else except the vinegar and simmer for 20 minutes.

Finally, add the vinegar and take it off the heat.

I ate this over brown rice, but if you are interested in serving it over salmon, you can consult Ina Garten.

I find that I don't really have the photography skills to make lentils look appealing, but this was easy to make and really good! The vinegar gives it a really good flavor kick.

LARG

So, in my college dining hall we had this one delicious soup on the menu rotation. It was called "lentil and roasted garlic soup," but we referred to it as LARG. I realize "LARG" is not an appetizing name for a soup. LARG also did not have an appetizing appearance. It looked a lot like sewer sludge. However, it was DELICIOUS. One of the very best things on the (admittedly mediocre) dining hall menu rotation.

And then, my junior year I think, they changed food providers and WE LOST LARG. Until now, kind of? My friend Molly found a LARG recipe in a cookbook and she & I both made it and have been discussing how best to recreate the LARG of our college days.

Ingredients

• 1 whole head of garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• a couple of carrots, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound French lentils
• 8 cups vegetable stock or mineral water (I used vegetable Better than Boullion to make the stock)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic 

Disclosure: I didn't have any rosemary or balsamic vinegar. I'm not fancy, gosh.

Anyway, first heat the oil in a big pot and add the onions, carrots, and celery for a few minutes. Then add the s&p and bay leaves. And the rosemary if you have any. Then add the broth and lentils, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for an hour or until the lentils are tender. (If this happens before your garlic finishes roasting, take it off the heat.)

MEANWHILE roast a head of garlic. I used elephant garlic and it was pretty awesome. I realized I didn't have any foil so I put in in a bread pan and covered it with a cookie sheet and some olive oil. Kind of ghetto, but it worked!

Then, put the roasted garlic in a blender or food processor, maybe with a little water. Once it's blended add it to your soup along with the fresh minced garlic and the vinegar (if you have it) and bring it back up to a boil for a few minutes.

And then it's done, hooray! I made it when my college friend Julia was here and we both agreed it would be more college-authentic if you blended the whole thing to make it more sludgey. However, your mileage may vary, because maybe you don't want your soup to resemble sewer sludge for some reason??

Needs to be sludgier.

My cat Duarte approves. Or at least does not blatantly disapprove.