Brown Lentil, Smoked Sweet Paprika and Parsley Soup

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Continuing on the theme of lasts weeks post I wanted to show you a recipe that incorporates garlic confit.

So who has made it yet? Be honest!

Basically garlic confit is great in soups, stews, broths and pastas. It adds warmth, flavour and many delicious notes to a dish.

You will wonder how on earth you survived without it until now.

The soup I wanted to show you I’ve made a few times since my discovery of garlic confit. It takes minutes to prepare and is addictively delicious. The brown lentils I use are the ones in glass jars, as I just think they taste a whole lot better. If you can only find the tinned ones then absolutely use those – it will still taste great.

I love soups whatever the weather but I know that it is not customary to eat hot soups in hot weather here in the UK. In India it is quite different and hot soups are eaten even in 35 degrees heat. This recipe does have autumnal tones and I think that it will appeal to a wide audience as the days get cooler – at least I hope so.

Brown Lentil, Smoked Sweet Paprika and Parsley Soup

Serves 4-6

3 tbsp oil from the garlic confit

8 confit garlic cloves

1 small white onion, finely chopped

2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika

400g brown lentils

1 tbsp tomato puree

800ml of stock – vegetable or chicken

salt to taste

2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley chopped

juice of half a lemon

 

  1. In a large deep pan – I love to use my Le Creuset pot – add the garlic confit oil, along with 8 garlic confit cloves. Allow to heat up and then add onion and allow to soften.
  2. Add the tomatoes and smoked sweet paprika to the onion and garlic confit.
  3. When the tomatoes have softened, add the brown lentils and the tomato puree followed by the stock.
  4. Allow to come to the boil and then simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste and then add the fresh flat leaf parsley and lemon juice.
  5. Serve immediately with some crusty bread.

 

If there is one thing you do this summer ………make Garlic Confit

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Before
After

Not so long ago ‘garlic confit’ entered my world. I had kindly been given the wonderful cookbook ‘Gjelina – Cooking from Venice California’ from a good Californian friend who knows I love the restaurant. I spoke more about it here. Flicking through the pages I saw a number of confit recipes so opted to try the garlic confit first. Of course I had heard of garlic confit, but never really had it to hand in my fridge. It is has now become one of my favourite fridge essentials, along with my chipotle of course.

It is really straight forward to make and the flavours it transmits in a dish are PHENOMENAL. The garlic cloves are slow cooked, which gives them a deliciously unctuous taste and texture and the oil they sit in is liquid gold that equally transforms a recipe. It’s one of those things that you wished you had cooked years ago – hence my enthusiasm to urge you to make a batch yourselves.

 

 

The only vaguely time consuming part is peeling 8 heads of garlic but that’s where your other half/children/neighbours/friends popping over for coffee, come in handy.

Would love to hear if you actually make it so please leave a comment in the comments section below.

Next week I will show you a deliciously easy recipe that includes garlic confit.

Garlic Confit

Makes around 1kg

8 heads of garlic, cloves separated and peeled

12 fresh thyme sprigs

3 bay leaves, bruised

500ml extra-virgin olive oil

 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.
  2. Peel the garlic cloves and place them in an oven proof dish.
  3. Add the bay leaves, fresh thyme and extra-virgin olive oil.
  4. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes so that they are lightly browned but still hold their shape.
  5. Allow to cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container.
  6. Place in the fridge and use when needed. They will last for up to 2 months, but I can assure you you will finish them way before the 2 months is up.