Thai Lentil Soup

Well, I blew it with the vegan thing on Wednesday. Tristan begged me to make eggplant parmesan so I did. My kids love it, especially with gooey mozarella cheese. Maybe I will have to go in search of a vegan style recipe for that.

We are big soup lovers in this family, and we also love Thai food, so I tried a thai soup that was fabulous! All vegan of course! I'm going to give you the recipe doubled, as most of the people (I think) that read my blogs have more than one or two members in their family. This recipe fed my family of five with only one bowl left over.........perfect! I made a few adjustments, as noted.

Ingredients:

olive oil

1 large red onion (recipe calls for two without doubling but that was too much for me)

1 bird's eye chilli, seeded and finely sliced (couldn't find so I used a red jalepeno)

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 - 1 inch pieces of fresh lemon grass, outer layers removed and inside finely sliced (again, couldn't find at my local grocer so I used fresh ginger instead)

2 c. red lentils

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp paprika

2 cans coconut milk (I used the lite to save on some fat and calories)

7 cups water

juice of 1 or 2 limes

3 spring onions (scallions), chopped (I used an entire bunch of green onion, is that the same?)

1 cup fresh cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in large pot and add the onions, chilli, garlic and lemon grass (or ginger). Cook for 5 minutes or until onions have softened but not browned, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the lentils and spices. Pour in the coconut milk and water, stir. Bring to boil and let simmer for 40-45 minutes, until lentils are soft.

3. Pour in lime juice and add the spring onions and cilantro. Serve.

I served the soup with fresh rolls, very easy to make but a little time consuming. Thanks to Tristan who stood and rolled for 1/2 hour. You just take rice wraps and soak them in VERY warm water for about 20 seconds or so. I have a cast iron skillet on the stove with 1 inch water that I occasionally turn on to high to keep water really warm. If it is not warm enough it won't soften the rice wrap enough. Lay them down and place small piece of lettuce, little bit of rice, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, and cilantro. Roll like a tight burrito and serve with asian sauce of your choice. My sauce consists of about 1/2 red chilli sauce, 1/2 sweet seasoning (found in the asian section), and a little soy sauce. I know I had a lot of trouble finding the sweet seasoning down south so you might have to go to an asian grocer for that.

You can make fresh rolls with about any kind of vegetable. I usually use rice noodles instead of rice but I actually liked the rice better. I also usually use basil or mint, not cilantro but either one is good, just a slightly different taste.