Vegetarian Wednesday: Curried Hummus and Tomato Lentil Soup

I have tried approximately 40-hundred hummus recipes, this is a combination of a few. I haven't been able to get a decently creamy spread, so I am upping the oil a little tiny bit and making sure my pureeing is nice and mushing. Also, who doesn't love lentils?? Not I! Wait, that's too many negatives, I can't work out whether I just said I liked them or not. I love them! We all should! Yay for vegetarian Wednesdays and the tornado that didn't come!

For the hummus, you will need:

1 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, grated

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 Tbsp curry (see recipe below)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 c water

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 and a half lemons)

Salt

2 540 ml cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

For the curry powder, you will need:

1/2 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 tsp chili flakes (use less if you are into milder curry. baby)
1 tsp green cardamom seeds (about a dozen pods worth)
6 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger

To extract the cardamom seeds, flatten them with a large knife by whacking them with the wide part.

Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and cook the whole spices (cardamom, cumin, cloves, coriander) until you can smell them, 30 seconds to a minute.

Let cool and dump everything else into a spice grinder. You COULD also use a mortar and pestle, give yourself a few more minutes for that. And a gold star.

Pulse a few times for the cinnamon stick, then add in the cooled whole spices and just keep pulsing until it looks blended.

Back to the hummus!

Heat oil in a non-stick saucepan over med-low heat. Cook the onion for 2 minutes. Add the garlic for 30 seconds. That's it! Add in the curry powder and cumin seeds, cook for another 30 seconds until you can smell 'em. 

Dump the garlic mixture and everything else into a food processor or blender, blend like crazy until it is all smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. This is where you can add a little extra water or perhaps 2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil, until you are happy with the texture.

You are going to get about 3 cups, and a decent serving is about 1/4 c, which works out to about 82 calories. 

And now for the tomato soup. You will need:

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped finely

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 lb tomatoes or I can 28 oz diced tomatoes

3/4 c split lentils

5 c chicken or vegetable stock

Salt, pepper

First off, if you are going to use fresh tomatoes, you will want to peel, dice and seed them in advance. To do that, bring a deep-ish pot of water to boil. Get a big bowl ready filled with lots of ice and some water. Remove the green stem and cut an "X" across the bottom of each tomato.

Using something amazingly useful like a spider (the non-gross leggy one) dip each tomato individually into the boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute, until you see the cut edges start to peel upwards.

Remove and immediately put into the bowl filled with ice water. Do them all; after they are all blanched the skin should just peel right off. In theory.

The tomato Polar Bear dip

Brr

They practically peel themselves

Cut the tomatoes across the middle:

And use a small spoon to scrape the seeds out inside the revealed tunnels. A sharp spoon, like a grapefruit spoon, is awesome for this, but you can also use a paring knife on any parts if they get unruly. Bye glutamates. Sigh. 

Somewhat de-seeded

Roughly chop and do the rest of your prep. Chop your onions, press your garlic, have a ball. If you are using canned tomatoes, then, um, open it. 

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat; cook the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, cumin, coriander tomatoes and lentils, cook for another 4-5 minutes.

Add in the stock, bring to a boil and then simmer for 30-45 minutes until the lentils are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat and let sit on a raised wire rack to cool slightly. Use a food processor or blender to process the soup until smooth. If you are going to use a blender, remove the center plastic plug in the blender lid and wrap tightly with a large kitchen towel. One that will hopefully not show tomato stains. This will vent the steam somewhat. You may also have to do the soup in batches. You can use an immersion blender if you like, but it will not be as smooth. A food processor can only take so much fluid, so keep an eye on your levels. This sounds like fun, doesn't it?? It will totally be worth it.

Pops right out

Using one of my bread towels

And a food processor, because, hey, there it was on the counter from the hummus

Return the soup to the same pot, rinsed out, and warm to eating temperature. I added some stock at the end to get it to the consistency I wanted; she was a leetle thick. I used fresh tomatoes (but I didn't seed them entirely because nutrients) and I came up with 4 servings at 140 calories each. Added in some homemade bread and butter and bam! Under 500 calories and veggie fantastic.

Enjoy!

Equipment Corner

A couple of quick notes; I never understood those adjustable measuring spoons until I did my first spice blend and realised how invaluable they are for lots of tiny dry ingredients. I also broke one of my garlic presses today, which I did not even know was possible; that one looked pretty sturdy and it will be my replacement.

I wanted to include a mortar and pestle, especially since I ended up using one today, but that is something you really want to be able to grope in person. You want one that feels good in the hand, has a nice and heavy pestle and is rough inside. No smooth interiors! Rough will help those spices break down much faster. And I'm out!