All spiced up: easy lentil soup

By Danielle Rosenberg

During the last stretch before fall break, many of us are starting to feel a little uncomfortable financially.

Maybe it’s due to the extensive retail therapy required to cope with the stress from midterms, or maybe it’s because the modest stipend left from begging complete strangers for tips wasn’t enough to cover all the cases of Pabst required to make it through the warm season.

Either way, times are tough and creativity is required to silence that growl emanating from your empty stomach in the middle of your Introduction to World Religions class. This lentil soup is adapted from a version published on the recipe blog 101 Cookbooks.

I added sherry and many spices because I found it to be a little bland. All in all, this recipe probably costs four bucks and will last 2 or 3 days, depending on how many people eat it and how large their appetites are.

Ingredients
2 Cups Lentils
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, diced
2 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons Dry Sherry
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Ginger
1 Teaspoon Turmeric
1 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 28-ounce can Crushed Tomatoes
2 Cups Water
3 Cups Kale or swiss chard, rinsed, stems removed, and chopped
Greek Yogurt

Instructions:
Bring six cups of water to a boil, add lentils and let cook about 20 minutes or until lentils are soft. Drain.
In another large pot, heat the olive oil and add the onions. Toss them around to coat the onions evenly and then add the sherry. Let the onions cook in this until slightly tender (be sure to leave some crunch for texture later).
Add the chili powder, ginger, turmeric, crushed red pepper, black pepper, tomatoes, water and cooked lentils.
Bring this mixture to a simmer, stirring well, and then add the chopped kale or swiss chard. Let this cook for a minute or two and spoon the soup into bowls, topping with a tablespoon or so of Greek Yogurt. (The Greek Yogurt adds a little bit of a tang, and makes it a little bit creamier—balancing out the acidity of the tomatoes.)