Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

This soup takes little more than half an hour to make.  It’s warm and comforting, and redolent with curry, cumin, and cayenne pepper.  Amazing flavor, with just a hint of lemon, and all the healthy goodness that comes along with lentils, the super food of the legume family.  

Low on the glycemic index as well as in fat, but high in protein, iron, and folate, lentils are your best friend.  They won't let you down--they're the Ed Norton/Ethel Mertz of the food world. Look:

nutritional value in 1/4 cup red lentils

So so SO SO good…really really good…even better than good.  Try it for yourself and see :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

2 large carrots, diced

1 celery stalk, diced (more for garnish)

1 small onion, diced

2 cups red lentils

7 ounces whole kernel corn (I buy one 15-oz can and use half)

3 large garlic cloves or 5 small ones, peeled and minced

8 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth if you want to be vegetarian)

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons cumin

1 lemon (more for garnish)

olive oil

kosher salt/cracked black pepper

blender (I use an immersion blender)

lemon zester

NOTE:  garnish = lemon wedges, diced celery and celery leaves

Drizzle oil in large dutch oven and saute onion, carrots, and celery over med-high heat until soft (approx 10 minutes).  Sprinkle salt on them, then add garlic.  Saute for a few seconds and add chicken broth, lentils, corn, and spices.

Stir and simmer for a few minutes to mix the flavors.  Cover, and simmer approx 25 minutes on med-low. 

Take off heat.

Using your immersion/hand blender, puree the soup slightly.  I like it to have some consistency.  

pureed soup

Add the juice and zest of one lemon, and salt/pepper to taste.  Stir.

I serve sprinkled with cracked black pepper, diced celery on top for crunch (celery leaves too!), and a lemon wedge on the side.

Chicken Paillard: parmesan crusted chicken cutlets with a cool, lemony arugula salad

When he called and asked if I knew how to make chicken cutlets, I froze.

Here's why...

I've known him for 20 years and though he's a brilliant attorney, handsome and funny, a formidable trivia opponent, a cinema historian, and he lives in a very cool historic mansion, his cooking skills are not one of his better qualities.  In fact, they scare me.

I helped him make a beef stew once.  He handed me the flour to thicken the gravy but when I mixed it with wine and added it to the pan, nothing happened.  I found out why when we started eating--it was powdered sugar.  Beef stew, and almost 3 hours of cooking time, ruined.

So when he asked about the cutlets, I had trepidation.  I gave him some instructions and the last thing I said to him was "don't forget to keep an eye on the temperature." 

He sent me pictures of the finished dish:  the breading was black and kinda burnt and didn't really stick to the chicken, so it was naked in parts.  No salad, but there were noodles next to it that looked like they were mixed with Elmer's glue.  Aye yai yai...beef stew all over again.

But then he sent me this text:

Awwwww...all's well that ends well  :)

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

serves 4

4 thin chicken cutlets

seasoned breadcrumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (the green can is good for this)

salt/cracked black pepper

1 bunch arugula

1 lemon

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 egg

2 cups breadcrumbs

2 cups flour

3 large shallow bowls or plates

non-stick frying pan

oven ready pan

I serve the salad on top of the chicken.  For a nice light lunch, I like sliced tomatoes on the side.  For dinner, I serve it with mashed potatoes.

Again I can't stress enough:  please keep an eye on your temperature.  Too high and they will burn, too low and they will be soggy

Preheat oven to 310 degrees.

First, you have to put together your breading/dredging area:  place the flour in one bowl, the egg mixed with a little water in the next, and the breadcrumbs mixed with the parmesan cheese in the other.  So, its dry--wet--dry.

Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and a drizzle of olive oil in non-stick pan over med-high heat

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, then dredge 1 cutlet in flour, then dip in egg wash, then cover with bread crumbs.  Cook 2 at a time in the frying pan until nicely browned on both sides.  Remove to oven ready pan.  Add the rest of the butter and some more oil to frying pan, and repeat process (don't worry if you're not sure if the chicken is completely done, cutlets are so thin that they probably will be, but they will keep cooking slowly in the oven regardless. They will also get tender and juicy in there...mmmmmm).

Place in oven to keep warm while you make the salad

Make dressing:  mix juice of half a lemon, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Adjust and add more lemon, etc as needed.

Place chilled arugula in large bowl and toss with dressing.  Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper to the top.

Remove chicken from oven

tender and juicy chicken cutlets

Serve with cool salad on top and sliced tomatoes or mashed potatoes on the side, like this: