Ingredients
500 grams of lentils
250 grams of chopped tomatoes
3 carrots
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of olive oil
2 bay leaves
salt
1 medium saucepan of water
Instructions
You will need one 500-gram pack of lentils.
As you can see in the photo, this amount is equal to about two and a half cups of lentils.
Put the lentils into a big saucepan, and add water to fill the saucepan to the middle.
Place the saucepan on a stove burner and turn the heat to maximum, bringing water to boil.
Then turn the heat to medium, and let the lentils boil for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, fill one medium saucepan with water, and place it on another stove burner, so that the water it contains reaches close to boiling point.
Use a colander to strain the lentils.
Put the strained lentils into a pressure cooker.
Peel the onion and the cloves of garlic, and put them into the pressure cooker where you have put the lentils.
Add the bay leaves. Add the hot water from the medium saucepan.
Then add the chopped tomatoes, the olive oil, and the salt.
Take the carrots, slightly peel them, and chop them into the pressure with the other ingredients.
Close the lid of the pressure cooker tightly, and place the press cooker on a stove burner at maximum heat.
As soon as the pressure cooker starts making the characteristic “whistling” sound, turn the heat down to medium, and let the ingredients slowly cook for 20 minutes.
That’s it, your lentil soup is ready.
Note:
The reason for boiling lentils in water for 10 minutes in the beginning of the recipe is to remove any excess iron contained in them. Although iron is a very useful trace mineral for the body, you can follow this process to remove excess iron quantities that may harm those who have difficulty tolerating it.
In terms of the nutritional value of lentils, which are a type of legumes, if combined with bread, they have similar nutritional value to eating meat.
When I eat lentils, I also eat olives, because I think that they go well together, along with wholemeal bread and some vinegar.
In terms of a salad to eat with lentils, I made some cabbage and carrot salad with lemon juice and olive oil.
I also had a shot of saffron-flavored tsipouro (a local eau de vie beverage) to pair with lentils.
Finally, I had some fruits, that is oranges and apples.
