{"id":13747,"date":"2014-01-13T14:13:03","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T22:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/?p=13747"},"modified":"2014-01-13T20:09:51","modified_gmt":"2014-01-14T04:09:51","slug":"green-vegetable-and-lentil-soup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chefmorgan.com\/engine\/green-vegetable-and-lentil-soup","title":{"rendered":"green vegetable and lentil soup"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"chef<\/p>\n

New Year, Detox You<\/strong><\/p>\n

green vegetable and lentil soup<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

This week’s green vegetable and lentil soup,\u00a0<\/i>with only 254 healthy calories, is the perfect way to undo the indulgences of the holidays and start 2014 off right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"chef<\/span><\/p>\n

I concluded 2013 by getting fingerprinted. The reason for the fingerprinting, however, was not nearly as exciting as you might be thinking. In fact, it was merely one more step in the carte de sejour<\/i> (visa) process that has been ongoing for much of 2013 at a escargot<\/i>\u2019s pace.\u00a0<\/span>While getting fingerprinted (actually for a second time) may sound unfortunate, it was a good thing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Paris is quiet during the holiday period. Many businesses are closed and not many people work (hotels and tourist related businesses are the exception). I viewed my chance of finding the visa office open as slim. Even if it was open, I had greater doubts that anyone would accept my explanation as to why I missed my initial appointment (the notice of which was apparently \u201cin the mail\u201d and then ultimately delivered after I had left Paris). However, both happened: the office was open and I found a helpful and understanding staff who did not roll their eyes nor feign \u201cje ne comprends pas<\/i>\u201d (I don\u2019t understand) when my American tongue butchered the various past and conditional congregations of their language when I offered my explanation. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"chef<\/p>\n

Fingerprinting done and more paperwork turned in, there is just one last step: the medical exam and then (another) payment. Despite my inquiry, details regarding the exam remain unknown and the date and the location are similarly mysterious. I will be receive another notice in the mail and it can only be by mail. The whole experience has been, well, so very French. This is why getting fingerprinted during the holidays, a little more progress forward, was a good thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"chef<\/p>\n

With that detail done, even better was the cooking that followed that evening and celebrating the end of a good year. I welcomed 2014 with an abundance of French culinary delights \u00a0— oysters from Brittany, a variety of French cheeses, various mini buche de No\u00ebl<\/i>\u00a0from Lalos<\/i>, wine from Bordeaux, and Champagne, to name a few — \u00a0with good company while the tower\u2019s lights flashed through the windows every hour. Adieu<\/i> 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"chef<\/p>\n

Le jour de l\u2019an<\/span> (<\/i>New Year\u2019s day) in Paris is quiet and dirty. Nothing really happens before noon and it takes that long to clean up the evidence of the festive debauchery of the early morning hours that preceded.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"chef<\/p>\n

I could not motivate to take a \u00a0run until 10:30, an obscenely early time by French standards. At 3:00 pm, friends and I walk to a brasserie<\/em> for lunch which is full because it is only one of three open in my neighborhood. My friends bring their dog who sits quietly on their lap taking in the atmosphere. Like many French dogs, she is used to sitting in restaurants as an equal. As people pass, they stop to \u201ccoo coo<\/i>\u201d with the adorable canine. There are three men standing at the bar next to our table. One is particularly fond of my friends\u2019 dog and strikes up a conversation with us as the dog is covering his hand with doggie kisses. The man whips out his phone to show us photographs of his own dog. His two friends join in and before I know it, there is a collection of patrons comparing dog portraits via mobile. The French love their dogs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"chef<\/p>\n

When the canine love settles down, I ask my friends (also ex-pats but full-time) about the medical exam for the visa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I hope your experience is not like mine…\u00a0 but that was years ago so maybe it is better now.\u201d she began.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She told me how I will be weighed, x-rayed, and asked to do various tasks with minimal privacy. To top it off, she warns me that I may have my physical appearance commented on during the exam while a doctor questions me about my eating and drinking habits (if I drink Champagne, eat cheese, and eat chocolate). The questions strike me as odd because it is France and who does not enjoy those things in France?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"chef<\/span><\/p>\n

I have this to look forward to in 2014.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the dread of this exam lurks in the back of my mind, the phrase \u201cNew Year; New You\u201d seems epidemic. Everyone seems eager to find the best way to \u201cdetox\u201d their bodies from the culinary indulgences of the holidays.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the U.S., dieting is the number one New Year\u2019s resolution. The French do not diet the way Americans do because they are generally more consistent in their eating habits. However, it is not uncommon for the French to do a little \u201cdetox\u201d to get back on track (this means no foie gras<\/i>, eating minimal cheese, and passing on desserts). Recipes intended to trim you down in the new year are often dubbed \u201cdetox<\/i>\u201d or \u201cdetox du jour.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"chef<\/p>\n

Leek soup, the simple combination of leeks, water, seasoning, and a bouquet garni <\/i>has been used as a \u201cdetox<\/i>\u201d by the French for years (as mentioned by Mireille Guiliano<\/i> in her book \u201cWhy French Women Don\u2019t Get Fat<\/i><\/span>\u201d). There are many variations on the leek soup theme. One I am fond of is by food writer Elizabeth David who adds lettuce, spinach, and peas to her leek soup (although I do not think her version was intended as a detox<\/i>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Starting 2014 off right, with good eating habits, means eating lots of green. This week\u2019s recipe, a variation of the leek soup \u201cdetox,<\/i>\u201d was inspired by Ms. David’s version and my daughter\u2019s request for lentil soup.<\/span><\/p>\n

This detox<\/i> soup du jour<\/i> <\/span>is filling, light in calories (254 calories per serving), vegetarian, and excellent for your health.\u00a0 It combines leeks, kale, spinach, celery, sorrel, and Puy lentils. It is beautifully deep green. It will make you feel good from the inside-out.\u00a0<\/span>The best thing is that is doesn\u2019t taste like a \u201cdetox\u201d meal, it just tastes good. \u00a0French medical exam? Two marathons this spring? As any American would say, “bring it on…”<\/span><\/p>\n

Wishing you all a bonne ann\u00e9e<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e0 table !<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

LM<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"chef<\/p>\n

green vegetable lentil soup<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It is absolutely necessary to strain the soup before cooking the lentils because leeks become stringy and fibrous when cooked. The use of\u00a0 kale and spinach keeps the soup a healthy deep green color despite the addition of the Puy lentils. If you cannot find sorrel in your market, use a little extra lemon juice and add extra spinach or leeks. Garnish the soup with fresh herbs and diced celery. A dollop of cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche swirled in is a nice touch too. \u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

serves 4<\/span> (254 calories per serving)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

14 ounces (400g) leeks, white and\u00a0pale<\/i>\u00a0green portions<\/span>
\n\u00bc cup olive oil\u00a0<\/span>
\n1 teaspoon lemon juice (and as needed)<\/span>
\n\u00bd cup chopped celery stalk\u00a0<\/span>
\nbouquet garni\u00a0<\/i>(1 bay leaf and Italian parsley)<\/span>
\n5 cups bottled water<\/span>
\n1 \u00bc cup chopped sorrel<\/span>
\n1 \u00bc cup chopped Tuscan kale, ribs removed\u00a0<\/span>
\n2 handfuls baby spinach\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00bd cup Puy lentils\u00a0<\/span>
\nsea salt, as needed<\/span>
\nfreshly ground black pepper, as needed<\/span><\/p>\n

minced Italian parsley, as needed for garnish<\/span>
\nminced chives, as needed for garnish<\/span>
\nsmall diced celery, as needed for garnish<\/span>
\ncr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche, optional garnish\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How to<\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n