Global warming

I got up this morning with soup on my mind. Lentil soup, to be exact. With aromatic vegetables slowly caramelizing in dark green extra virgin olive oil, and fresh tomatoes (my excessive shopper strikes again) gently releasing their pale winter juices into the rich broth. Redolent with spices from the far east and the near east, evoking the memory of narrow alleyways in a Mediterranean marketplace; and fat little disks of brown lentils changing color and texture, becoming creamy enough to absorb all the flavors.

Downstairs, I found a gift from my lovely husband. An enameled cast iron pot. I have wanted one for a long time. True, not this particular size, but still. It's heavy, it's red and it can hold enough soup to feed all of us (and various friends and family) all winter long. Eshet Chayil (Woman of Valor) that I am, I immediately set out to show my appreciation by filling the cauldron with a soup worthy of its magnitude.

Pot-O'-Plenty Lentil Soup

4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 very large onion, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, sliced

4 small parsley roots, peeled*

3 celery stalks, thinly sliced

2 1/2 cups chopped carrots (I used baby carrots)

1 1/2 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and halved

4 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1/4 tsp each: paprika, cumin, coriander

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp black pepper

Pinch each: cinnamon, dried sage, dried thyme

Kosher salt, to taste

Optional: 1/4 tsp kh'wayej (a Yemenite-Israeli spice mix, available in stores that carry Israeli spices. Make sure you got the one that is "for soup")

1 1/3 cups brown lentils

1. Over medium heat, saute onions in oil until golden. Add garlic and parsley roots and cook 2 more minutes.

2. Add celery and carrots. Cover and cook for 10 minutes,      stirring once or twice.

3. Add all the spices except salt and mix well.

4. Add tomatoes. Mix again. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add lentils, stir and add boiling water to cover plus 2 inches more. Bring to a boil again.

6. Cover, turn heat to low and cook for 90 minutes.

7. Discard parsley roots and ginger. Scoop out 2 cups of the soup's solids and reserve.

8. Puree the soup (using an immersion blender or regular blender or food processor).

9. Add salt to taste, return reserved soup solids and mix well.

10. Serve with a squeeze of lemon, if you wish.

Serves about 10 people on a cold winter night

* Parsley roots are sold in most supermarkets but are not always available. You are more likely to find them around Jewish holidays (especially Pesach). Buy as much as you think you'll need in the next 6 months, peel the whole bunch and freeze in zip-top bags. Then remove as many as needed whenever you make soup. They add an earthy, sweet, home-made-soup flavor. Do not substitute parsnips. They are not the same. Do not freeze the parsley roots tops. They can be substituted for parsley in cooked dishes but not in salads, so plan ahead to make some soup on the day you buy the roots and use the tops in that.

Darling husband is sleeping the sleep of the just. Will be pleasantly surprised to wake up to a house redolent with the winter-y smell of lentil soup. Earthy, spicy, warm and filling. 

Just the thing to help us face global warming.