Clever reader, I have a quick question for you today! What do the following dishes have in common?
Apple sauce sandwich
Boiled whole apples
Beetroot relish sandwich
Boiled red lentils in water
If you guessed that they were on the menu at Chez Elliott a few weeks ago you’d be right! I had left Mr NQN to his own culinary instincts while I was away and the poor sausage had to cook for himself and the above featured on his menu (a saving grace, he didn’t invite anyone over to share it with him). Although he has easy access to takeaway and friends that offered to feed him not to mention cash for him to buy food, he decided to cook for himself. Which I thought was quite admirable…until I found out what was on the menu.
“So you just ate boiled red lentils?” I confirmed with him. “Did you add any salt?” I checked.
“Nope, but they weren’t too bad at all” he said proudly.
I made him an alternative to his boiled red lentil dish once I got home. This was a soup that an Egyptian friend Mariam had spoken about at length. She waxed rhapsodic about its soothing and comforting properties and added that it was an easy soup to make – not as easy as boiling red lentils but with a chopper or processor it was not that much more difficult. It was a thick lentil soup rich in aromatic spices that was just made for dipping some charred, crusty, fresh bread into. He preferred this to his boiled red lentils but stood firm that if push came to shove, he might make his boiled red lentil dish again.
I shook my head. And yes, I did worry slightly about the tastebuds of the man that tests my food….
So tell me Dear Reader, what is the strangest or most makeshift sandwich or dish you have ever eaten or served?
Egyptian Lentil Soup
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed until water becomes clear
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 2 large potatoes, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 stick celery, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 3 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
1. Place the vegetable stock, red lentils, onions, potato, tomato, garlic, carrots and celery in a large cast iron pot with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring making sure that the lentils don’t stick to the bottom.
2. Five minutes before serving, heat the oil and fry the cumin, turmeric and salt in a small saucepan, until they become fragrant. Add to the soup and season with more salt and pepper if needed and add lemon juice. Blend using an immersion blender to get a thick soup. Serve with toasted crusty bread.
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65 Comments | Add your own
He sounds like Ben when I leave him to cook…I love Egypt, so I’d love this.
A delicious looking soup! Wonderful flavors.
Cheers,
Rosa
Love the spices in this. Looks like a healthful + delicious soup. Thanks!
I love this soup!!!
Yummy! I think I could probably subsist on that. Bet it freezes well too – maybe you could leave Mr NQN a stash in the freezer next time you have to go away?
I’m fairly sure that Mr NQN accompanies you to a lot of foodie stuff including top end restaurants and cooking classes, yet none of it rubbed off on him?
My husband is no better, though I suspect that he would not even try to cook something for himself. He might exist on toast and takeaway.
I always saw lentils on a main dish, and there is a tradition to cook it on Mondays, why? I don’t know. Anyway, my point is that when you see always the same way to cook an ingredient and suddenly you discovered there is another way, just has just to jump on the chair, that happened to me when saw this soup.
This soup looks and sounds delicious! Totally exotic
Mr NQN did quite a commendable job at handling the menu while you were away
My most makeshift sandwich? On camp, being veg, I couldn’t eat sausages so I boiled up pasta, put it in between two slices of bread with tomato sauce – it is now actually a favourite of mine
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I love red lentils. They are called ‘Mushur dal’in Bengali, and we have different versions of it.They also happen to be a daily fare in a Bengali Indian household. Boiled red lentils are actually delicious, but you do need to to work a wee bit harder than just to boil it. Know what? I am going to post a red lentil boiled fare that I cooked for myself one afternoon. When it comes to being lazy while coking for self, I think Mr NQN has company
I love lentils and I bet this soup is really good. Not sure I could do them without salt or anything else. Great cup measure, very cute. GG
Oh dear! Boiled lentils I get, but boiled apples? Whole? Baking at least makes sense!
My hubby would probably live on breakfast cereals if I went away, or his favourite soup of tinned tomato made with milk, tablespoons of garlic, and handfuls of cheese. You can pretty much stand a spoon up in the mixture and he oozes it out his pores for days!
I much prefer the sound of this Egyptian yumminess, thankyou
Yum I love soup with lentils I also make lentil burgers they are easy and delicious.
I haven’t eaten anything like Mr NQN, but when I was pregnant with my eldest daughter I craved tomato sauce and I would make mash potato sandwiches so I could put tomato sauce on them lol
Loving another vegan winter recipe! thanks lorraine:)
Oh dear they really can’t be left alone for too long can they?
When we were younger Sundays used to be fend for yourself nights. I nearly always had grilled cheese – a slice of bread with a slice of plastic cheese and a sprinkle of paprika. I think it’s nearly as simple as boiled lentils.
Love lentils! Glad your man found a way to at least feed himself, even if it was only boiled lentils!
We left my dad once and he ate boiled white rice and Tins of baked beans! He fed the leftovers to my guinea pigs.. They weren’t impressed with the menu!
Oh! My most makeshift sandwich? Ketchup between two loaves of bread and served. My toddler survived on those for six months, because he refused to eat anything else, if you discounted popsicles, and I am dead serious.
I have a bit of an issue with tartare sauce….I’ve been known to have it on toast…..YUM (but embarrassed to have shared this fact! LOL )
What gorgeous soup. I love your heart shaped measuring cup
What gorgeous soup! It’s cute that you worried about what he was eating. I love my husband but he’s a big boy. LOL Does that make me a bad wife?
Probably.
Am trying to figure out exactly what poor Mr NQN did wrong??? Love lentils of all colours in any size, shape or form, hardly use salt myself ; OK, OK, I steam the apples or apple slices. And usually add honey and cinnamon etc. Beautifully healthy methinks and good on him
! That does not mean your lentil soup won’t be copied. Am sick in bed for my birthday weekend [mine is for real unlike Her Majesty!] and that should lift my mood 
! And won’t even begin listing my personal food oddities: don’t want your dear readers to close the window!!
Another coincidence! I posted last night about a Middle Eastern soup I just ate! It sounds like Mr NQN was quite happy to rummage through the fridge seeking out condiments to sandwich between slices of bread. Oh to be so easily satisfied. Was he kilos lighter when on your return? xx
Looks delicious. I love any kind of soup! With the weather finally nice and cold I will have to give this one a try. Thanks for your recipe.
I always eat weird stuff at home cuz I can’t cook and will just through everything into a pot and think it’ll taste good when it turns out to be horrible LOL I don’t think i’ve had any Eygptian food before this looks lovely
lentils are great for winter hehe
Yum! Looks great x
Love lentils in any soup – though I don’t have eggplant often but I quite fancy the idea. I would be worried about leaving E to his own devices – ketchup on pasta and sandwiches of dip and chutney always seem weird to me – but then again he usually complains about anything with too much fruit so my chief taste tester has questionable taste buds!
Whoa lovely lentil soup! Haha the menus look… okay at least healthy natural ingredients? I don’t know if I made some odd sandwiches…probably not? Or I just don’t think that weird… =) I need to buy one smaller saucepan like yours. I just remembered it by looking at it. That one looks nice, small and sturdy. Have a great weekend Lorraine!
Dear Lorraine,
Such an important step to fry the cummin, turmeric and salt before adding to the soup. This is such comfort during the colder months! Thanks for sharing.
I think Mr. NQN did pretty well. I have a friend whose husband subsists on nothing but yogurt and peanut butter if she’s away on a trip. Egads! So, I give Mr. NQN props for putting forth the effort.
This is some cool soup!I hardly use lentils in anything I cook. I don’t know what to do with them LOL But now I do… yay!
This is the only way I will eat lentils
This reminds me of when my brother housesat as a teenager and existed on cooking himself plain beef mince and topping it with a sliced raw tomato.
It still makes me laugh, but he’s an awesome cook now. Jamie Oliver is his kitchen god.
I’d be all over this lentil soup!
I think Mr NQN’s tastebuds are fine, because Ive made a vast number of your dishes and all have been just superb (thank you!). I made your Armenian Nutmeg Cake last Sunday and it really rates as ‘best cake ever’ – everyone who tried it ended up moaning in rapture, which was a bit of a worry in the team meeting at work! I’m going to make your red lentils tomorrow and can’t wait to try it
xx
We use alot of red lentils in our house too for a vairety of dishes. When we were overseas for a month, childless – they both decided that they did not want to miss 4 weeks of school, I prepared a month’s worth of frozen dinners for Nanna and the 2 kids. Miss 16 loves cooking so only half the meals were used. The others I used in the 2 – 3 weeks after our return when Mr G was quite ill.
if i left hubby to fend for himself..he would live on OatBritz, cornflakes and toast (if there is any bread in the house)
equally important in my family.
that and he’d go visit my mum OR CORRECTLY my mum would make sure that he had food and coffee
Even if I left him food he’d not be bothered to heat it up and get reach for the cornflakes…so food lazy…
Lovely warming tasty and Winter!
Just got in from my relaxation classes and threw this soup together. So easy and just simmering on stove before being blitzed! Should last us the whole weekend! Thanks Lorraine for another easy delish recipe.
?Lorraine, Am I missing something, but where does the Lemon juice get added?
This sounds much better than boiled lentils in water!!
When I don’t have the kids and I am feeling a tad deflated, but in need of nutrition, I will opt for toasted sammies in place of dinner.
My way.
That means baked beans, cheese, chilli and garlic on whole wheat/multi grain bread.
Simple, and reasonably nutritious and healthy I hope!
This soup sounds so good to me–full of flavors I love. My vegetarian husband would have loved Mr. NQN’s plain lentils…sigh…
As a child I liked pineapple sandwiches on white bread with mayo. My tastes have expanded a bit since then.
Lentil soup is my go-to dish after returning from a trip. When I get home, I always feel like I need something simple with lots of vegetables in it. Love this pureed version! I’d definitely prefer this to plain boiled lentils.
Hi Dirtgirl – oops sorry, that goes in right at the end! Glad that you liked it and thanks for letting me know! Have a great weekend
This sounds really delicious! My most makeshift meal occurred once when I was camping and most of our food got destroyed in a flash flood. Breakfast the next day consisted of wet stale bread, a red capsicum, and water
Wow, what a lovely soup, looks delicious.
I don’t know if it’s strange, but since I usually cook for one, often I end up with a half of an avocado. I sprinkle it with lime and wrap with plastic wrap and the next morning it gets mashed with more lime, kosher salt and pepper and put on toast for breakfast. It is my very favorite breakfast!
The soup looks amazing. I will certainly give it a try!
It’s hard enough t get my family to eat lentils let alone just boiled! They will at least eat lentil soup which I make quite often during Ramadhan with some potato samosas for dunking. Yours sounds delicious and the pictures as always are beautiful. I may enjoy MR NQN’s beetroot sandwich though, I used to make one with pickled beetroot and cream cheese.
So funny that he eats so poorly without you. Glad you made him a proper soup when you got home. xoxo Mum
Are you reading my mind or something Lorraine? Only last week I was trawling your site looking so a couple of good soup recipes and “ta-da” Here one is! Thanks!
I’m still a rookie when it comes to cooking, but the first time I tried cooking chicken, I microwaved frozen thigh meat until it was a nauseating grey colour, then dumped a heap of dukkah on it, and then baked it at maximum temperature until the whole thing looked like dirty kitty litter. My supportive friends ate it nonetheless.
The other night I had a craving for tinned tuna and scrambled eggs. To save on time I cooked the tuna with the eggs, wasn’t half bad. Texture was a bit off.
I mentioned to my Mum this is what I had for tea, I don’t think shes going to be asking for my help cooking in future.
Boiled apple.. whole?
You really cant leave him to his own devices..
Love the soups.. cant get enough of them at the moment.. makes work lunches a snap to have containers of soup in the freezer.
Hahaha I love the topic of food oddities! I log cooking, but I love throwing random things together too. The thing I eat that people would probably find strangest is if there’s leftover sweet potato I like to cut it in half and put peanut butter (the unsweetened natural stuff) on it and eat it with a fork. I love the soft/sticky texture combination and the salty/sweet contrast that’s tied together by earthiness. Sometimes I do tahini instead.
Weird right?
Love* cooking
boiled lentils, plain as plain can be? blech. the weirdest sandwich i ever ate was one i had ALL the time growing up–white bread, american cheese, and mayonnaise. that’s it. i shudder to recall…
Those spices must make this soup so incredibly special!
Lorraine, is that a tomato or red capsicum in the ingredients photo? There is not one listed in the recipe.
Have the soup (with no caps or toms) on the stove right now.
Hi Belinda-Oops you are right! It is 1 tomato, have amended the recipe to include it although I have had readers make it without it and it has been fine
Love lentil soup and this looks absolutely delicious!
Heh heh Boiled Red lentils sound a bit gross! I’m sure he wished you were there! I’m always sceptical about what my partner feeds to our boys…so I always have a few tubs of soup or curries in the freezer. Last year when I was staying in hospital for the birth of my 2nd son, my 3 year old and my partner were home together for about a week. When I enquired about what they had been eating, my 3 year old proudly stated that they had been eating baked bean sandwiches, tuna and mayonnaise sandwiches, tomato sauce sandwiches only :b yuck…
Hi Lorraine, I made this last night and it turned out beautifully. Can’t wait to eat it today. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
HI Susan-I’m so glad that you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!
Hi Lorraine
A friend of mine loves beetroot and vegemite sandwiches – we did a taste test @ work one day – they were surprisingly good….sweet & salty x
this is very much similar to what mum used to prepare for us. difference is she does not use neither sumac nor celery. she uses mainly green squash,a lot of cumin and lemon juice. when serving, she adds partly pits and fried onion. we eat it with oven-crunchy pita bread.
Good work , love your recipes
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[...] I got inspired by a post by Lorraine in her fabulous blog Not Quite Nigella, where she posted about Egyptian Red Lentil Soup. Red lentils are such a regular fare in a Bong household, that I could not help but post this [...]
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