Red Lentil Soup with Homemade Naan Bread

I took it easy last weekend, my neck has been bothering me so I kept the chopping and slicing down to a minimum. Pitchers get pitcher's elbow, I had knife shoulder and neck I think.  This is a pretty easy dish.  Just a chopped onion, a shallot, red lentils, and some brown rice.  I found an organic mix for the Naan at the local liquidation store.  It contained  whole grain spelt flour, yeast, and flax and caraway seeds for the Naan. Naan is pretty basic, flour, yeast, hot non diary milk, and a little warmth.  It came out pretty good.  I rolled out one and showed my husband how and he rolled the rest.  It's been pretty cold around here so they came out more like tortillas.  Yeast and bread rising doesn't work out too well for me on a cold day.  I made a cucumber dill sauce too.  It gave the meal a nice freshness.

Red Lentil Soup with Brown Rice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 shallots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
6 cups low sodium vegetable stock (or water)
1 1/3 cup red lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup brown rice, rinsed
sea salt to taste
slivered almonds, toasted


In a big soup pot, over medium heat, combine the olive oil, onion, shallots, and red pepper flakes. Let them brown, and caramelize a bit, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the broth, bring to a boil, then stir in the lentils and rice. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the rice is very tender, and not at all toothsome. By this time, the lentils will have collapsed into a thick slop of sorts. If you need to add more water/broth at any point do so a splash at a time, until the soup thins out to the point you prefer.

Unless you used a salty broth, you will likely need to salt generously, until the the soup no longer tastes flat. Serve each bowl topped with almonds, olives, and a slight drizzle of olive oil if you like.

Serves 4 - 6.
Prep time: 10 min - Cook time: 30 min

Cucumber Dill Sauce

1 cup veganaise
6 oz. vegan cream cheese or firm tofu
1 medium cucumber (equivalent to 2 cups) chopped
2 tsp fresh dill or ½ tsp dried dill
2 green onions, rough chopped
1 TB fresh lemon juice
dash cayenne

Place ingredients into blender and blend to desired consistency.