Curried Moroccan Lentil Soup

Hey Everyone. It's Rebecca.

One of my favorite types of soup is spicy Moroccan Lentil Soup. Au Bon Pain makes a great one that is lunchtime staple in my life. So I decided to start looking for a similar recipe. I ended up finding a nice looking one on a professional food blog called the "Happy Herbivore". In case you can't tell from the name, this dish is actually vegan, so it's full of veggies and obviously lentils, and packed with great flavors!

Like all good soups, it starts by dicing up celery, carrots, onions and garlic.

Heat about a table spoon of oil in a pot and sautee the onions and garlic, till they are just starting to get tender.

Add a thin layer of water to the pot and bring to boil.

Add the rest of the veggies and cook until veggies have softened and most of the water is absorbed.

Add in the vegetable broth.

Add in lentils. And a can of tomatoes (I actually forgot to add in the tomatoes, and it still tasted good but I do think they would be a great addition for next time!).

Create your spice mix by combining, Garam Marsala, Ginger, Paprika, Cumin, Cinnamon and Curry powder. I personally am not a huge ginger fan, so I used slightly less ginger than the recipe called for an added a bit of extra curry powder and some cardamom.

Cook for about 15 minutes or till the lentils are cooked.

Use a blender to puree about half of the soup. Stir it back into the pot.

Serve with pita, naan or other bread.

Recipe: 
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 whole garlic cloves, minced
- 3 1/2  cups vegetable broth
- 2/3 cup red lentils
- 14 ounces diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup baby carrots, sliced
- 1/2 cup celery stalks, sliced
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp mild curry powder


Heat oil in a pot. Over hight heat, saute onions, and garlic. Add a thin lay of water and the remaining veggies. Cook until water has absorbed. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Continue to cook for about 15 minutes, or until lentils are cooked through.  Transfer 1/2 of soup to blender (or use an immersion blender) and puree until smooth. Return to pot and mix with rest of the soup. Allow flavors to come together for a few more minutes and serve! 

Fusilli with Meat Sauce

Hi everyone, Sarah here:

It's been a beautiful weekend, so Becca and I decided to go hiking at Great Falls National Park today.  While hiking, I got a little hungry and invented tonight's dinner in my head.  I completely invented this recipe, although there are many similar recipes out there, and it really hit the spot.  Absolutely delicious. 

Happy cooking, and enjoy!

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pot.

Dice up one large onion and add it to the pot.

Get out a pound of ground beef.

Add it to the pot with the onion.

Mince a few cloves of garlic and add them to the pot with the onions and ground beef.

Cook until the ground beef is browned and the onions are soft, and drain off the extra fat.

 

While the ground beef is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add in a pound of fusilli pasta.

Open a 28-oz can of whole peeled tomatoes.

Use your hands to tear apart the tomatoes into small pieces and add them to the pot with the ground beef.

Add in a quarter cup of red wine.

Add in a couple of tablespoons of diced sun-dried tomatoes.

Open a 28-oz can of crushed fire-roasted tomatoes and add them to the pot.

Mix in a tablespoon of Italian seasoning.

And a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

 

Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and set aside.

After about 15 minutes, the sauce should have simmered and thickened somewhat.

Add the pasta to the pot with the sauce and mix together.

Pour the pasta into a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Cover with 2 cups of shredded cheese.  I used an Italian 6-cheese blend, but you could just use mozzarella if that's all you have around.

Put the pasta under the broiler for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Yummmm.

Enjoy!

Fusilli with Meat Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 lb ground beef
28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine
3 tbsp. chopped sun-dried tomatoes
28-oz can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 lb fusilli pasta
2 cups Italian 5-cheese blend

Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.   Chop a large onion and 3 cloves of garlic.  Add ground beef, onion and garlic to the pot and cook until beef is browned and onion is soft.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add in a pound of fusilli pasta.  Cook until al dente, drain and set aside.

Once the beef is browned, drain the excess fat.  Open the can of whole peeled tomatoes and crush with your hands into bite-size pieces.  Add them to the pot with the ground beef.

Add in the wine, sundried tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and spices and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until sauce has thickened.

Mix the pasta and the sauce together in the pot, and pour into a 9x13 inch pan.  Cover the pasta with shredded cheese, and place under the broiler.  Broil for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden brown.  Serve with garlic bread and salad.