Bellygasm

Summer Lentil Soup

Let go my Lentil! I'm so excited. As a soup lover, I will choose a cup of hot savory soup over, say, a bowl of ice cream any day. In honor of the summer and the bounty of fresh vegetables, I have an easy lentil soup recipe that is so good you'll start to stock up on lentil beans (red, beluga, yellow) on your next trip to the grocery.

Depending on the stock you prefer to use, it can be a simple vegetarian lentil soup. For this recipe, I think green lentil is best because I use more tomato than in a typical French lentil soup. I always like to have as many different color on the plate, in this case, bowl as possible. Another reason why I think it's the best lentils soup ever is because it's pretty low fat so I indulge myself to multiple servings.

P.S. It actually get's better the next day so make sure to save some for leftover.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup of purple onion, diced
1 cup of white onion, diced
1 1/2 cup of carrots, diced
1 1/2 cup of celery, diced
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
5 cups of broth (chicken or vegetarian)
1 tablespoon of celery salt
1 tablespoon of dry thyme
4 bay leaves
1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Celery leaves 4 garnish

Preparation

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add carrots and sauté for 2 minutes.
3. Add celery and sauté for another 2 minutes. (Tip: Sometimes I like to layer in the flavors one at a time to add complexity)
4. Add garlic sauté for 1 minute.
5. Add thyme, celery salt, and 1 1/4 cup of green lentils. Stir to blend evenly.
6. Add crushed tomatoes, stock and bay leaves. Stir and bring it to a boil.
7. Cover and lower heat to low-medium. Simmer for about 45 minutes.Finish with balsamic vinegar and celery leaves for garnish.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin Cavatappi (Corkscrew) Pasta with Avocado

 

This is THE BEST pork tenderloin leftover recipe EVER. The avocado warms up once tossed with the hot pasta, turning a good dish into a great meal. It's light, healthy and creamy.  C'est impossible!  Made with only ingredients that you can find easily at your neighborhood grocery store, who knew weeknight dinner can be so fast and gourmet at the same time??  Honestly, I ate so much I had a Buddha's belly.

Ingredients

3/4 to 1 pound grilled pork tenderloin, cubed
1 large avocado, cubed
3 vine ripped orange tomatoes, quartered
1 cup KRAFT finely shredded Italian style five cheese blend
1 box of cavatappi pasta (De Cecco makes a good one) or your favorite pasta
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of fresh basil, wash and torn for a rustic look
1 medium onion, diced
Salt & pepper to taste

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes

Preparation

1. Bring large pot of water to boil.
2. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over low to medium heat for 1 minute. Add ends of tomatoes (without seeds or liquid) to enhance flavor of oil for approx. 3 minutes.
3. Salt pot of water generously and add pasta to cook for approx. 7 minutes for al dente.
4. Add onion to oil and turn heat up to medium and sauté until translucent for approx. 5 minutes. 
5. Add tenderloin cubes and remaining tomatoes with seeds & liquid to onion to warm for approx. 2 minutes.
6. Drain pasta and toss with onion and tenderloin mixture. Once combined, remove from heat.
7. Add avocado, basil, and cheese and carefully combine.
8. Add salt & pepper to taste.