I fell in love with Lebanese cuisine over 15 years ago in Brussels. It’s delicious, endlessly varied, fragrant, colorful, and festive. This vegetarian soup is a delight—I tasted it at my friend Roua’s, who kindly shared the recipe with me.
THE LEBANESE LEMON LENTIL SOUP
29 November 2024
: 4
: 30 min
: 55 min
: 1 hr 25 min
: Easy
In Lebanon, it’s called Adas Bil Hamoud, meaning lentils with lemon. It’s a nourishing vegetarian soup that can serve as a complete meal on its own. If you’re serving it as a starter or an appetizer, use small bowls.
Ingredients
- 1 glass of green or blonde lentils, rinsed
- 100 g of Swiss chard leaves
- 5 to 6 glasses of water
- A drizzle of olive oil
- Leaves from a small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
- 1 medium onion
- 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- Salt, freshly ground pepper
- Ground cumin
- 1 lemon
Directions
- Step 1 Thoroughly wash the Swiss chard leaves (keep the stems for a vegetable soup, for example), then roughly chop them into cubes or strips about 2 cm wide. Peel the onion, chop it in a food processor, and sauté it for a few minutes in a saucepan with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the lentils, chopped Swiss chard leaves, and water, and let simmer for 45 minutes with a pinch or two of cumin. At the end of cooking, add the chopped coriander and crushed garlic, then season with salt and pepper, adjusting the seasoning as needed.
- Step 2 Serve piping hot, just after adding the lemon juice.
