This is soup is one of my most requested recipes and one that I rarely publish because it's sentimental. Shane is my son and he so loved lentil soup when he was a young boy. It was one of my first pressure cooking recipes and got me started in the process which I still love. You can also make this on the stove top. It's so wonderful in its simplicity but you can certainly add any other vegetables that you choose.
Shane's Fabulous Lentil Soup
Makes about 8 cups
This soup is named for my son Shane whose favorite dinner when he was 4 years old used to be my lentil soup. He brought this soup in for a kindergarten class project that
he did on lentils and all the kids enjoyed it. It is easy to make, extremely nutritious
and keeps well in the freezer for up to 4 months. It has become my most
loved, and requested, recipe. I don't use oil but you can start with a couple of teaspoons of oil, if you prefer.
6 minutes high pressure; natural pressure release
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 cups homemade vegetable stock or water
1� cups green or brown lentils
� cup red lentils
1 medium potato, diced
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper, to taste
Put the cooker over medium heat. Add the onion and dry saut� for about 2 minutes, adding a tablespoon of the broth or water if sticking occurs.
Add the carrots and saut� for another minute. Add the bay leaves, thyme, broth or water, lentils, and potato. Stir well. Lock the lid in place on the cooker and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat until you achieve high pressure. Then reduce the
heat to maintain pressure for 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the pressure
come down naturally. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you. Remove the bay leaves and add salt and pepper to taste.
Note: This also tastes great with sweet potato, parsnips or other root vegetables added, or with corn or spinach stirred in at the end.
To make it on the stove top, add all the ingredients and cook until the lentils are cooked through, about 45 minutes.
Simple Herbed Chickpeas, Cauliflower and Potatoes
Makes 4 servings
One day after cooking chickpeas (garbanzo beans) in my new Instant Pot electric pressure cooker (for 12 minutes), I decided to make something with them. Usually, I would cook the beans and then add the other ingredients to make a complete dish. Since the beans were already cooked, this dish cooked in just 3 minutes. I used the new Veggie Queen Herb blend to add some zip. You can use your favorite blend in this.
1 � minutes high pressure; quick release; 1 � minutes high pressure; quick release
1 onion, chopped
2 to 3 small potatoes, cut into chunks about 1 inch
1/3 cup vegetable broth
2 cups mixed cauliflower florets, I used green and orange
1 small red pepper, diced, if you have it
1 � cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 to 2 tablespoons herb blend
Chopped Italian parsley (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Add the onion to the pressure cooker and saut� for a minute or two. Add the potatoes and vegetable broth and lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Bring to high pressure over high heat. Then lower the heat to maintain high pressure for 1 � minutes. Quick release the pressure, tilting the lid away from you. Add the remaining ingredients, but only half the herb blend. Bring back to high pressure and cook for another 1 � minutes. Quick release the pressure and remove the lid, tilting it away from you. Make sure that the vegetables are cooked through. Sprinkle with the herb blend and top with chopped Italian parsley if you have it. Add salt and pepper, if you use it.
I wear many hats but they're all related to great food that includes vegetables and other plant based cuisine. I'm a vegetable and plant-food cooking expert, in vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free eating. I also specialize in teaching people how to make great "fast food" in the pressure cooker. Don't worry about me turning you into a vegetarian; you have to do that on your own time. I just want to help you get more vegetables and plant foods into your diet, no matter what other foods you choose to eat. I want you to eat so that you feel healthy and energetic.
