Walnut, roasted mushroom and french lentil soup

Walnut, roasted mushroom, french lentil soup

We’re going to try something new, here at The Ordinary. In my imagination, actual ordinaries, in which people ate meals hundreds of years ago, had newspapers lying around the tables for patrons to read as they ate. People frequented the ordinaries as they travelled, and they shared tables with strangers. I imagine that they caught up on the news of the day as they paused in their travels, and they engaged in heated discussions about the news with their tablemates. Maybe they enjoyed a serial story in one of the newspapers and looked forward to reading the next installment at their next port of call – combining the pleasures of a warm fire, nourishing food, and a good read. At least that’s how I imagine it! So I’m going to try posting a serial story, right here in the virtual pages of The Ordinary. It’s actually a story I started some time ago, and that I got stalled on. So part of the motivation is that week-to-week, I’ll keep writing. It was inspired by the story of Florence Nightingale and her pet owl Athena, but it’s not really about them. It’s a story I would have liked when I was little, but I think I’d still like to read it now. It’s about every kind of Claire-y thing…secret pockets, boxes with little bottles in them, ship journeys, warm comforting food on cold days. My plan is to post a few pages every week, after the jump. Feel free to skip to the recipe, if you like!

The recipe for today’s installment is one of the better soups I’ve ever made! I love roasted mushrooms, I love french lentils, I love them together, but I’ve never combined them quite like this. I pureed the mushrooms with walnuts to make a lovely savory, meaty sort of bisque, with sage and rosemary, and I added the lentils and their broth just before serving.

Here’s A Wee Bird Cam’ Tae My Apron by Jean Redpath.

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Roasted Root veg and walnut bisque

roasted root veg soup

I like the idea of walnuts and root vegetables combined in a soup – all this earthy nutty sweetness called to mind a meal you could make after foraging for nuts and roots on an autumn day. I could imagine Peter Rabbit’s mother making this soup, or maybe Mole of Mole end.

This is a smooth, tawny soup. It’s flavored with caraway seeds and thyme, which is a delicious and mysterious combination – they combine to make something quite different from their familiar, individual tastes. I made a rich flavorful broth, with french lentils, mushrooms, tomato paste, tamari and marmite, but you could use any vegetable broth you like. And the same goes for the root vegetables…I used quite a variety – turnips, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots… but you could narrow it down to a few favorites if you like.

Serve with shavings of good sharp cheddar, which goes well with caraway seeds and walnuts, and contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the vegetables.

Here’s Jimmy Smith’s killer Root Down (and get it). Guess who sampled this?
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