I'm not cold, it's just an excuse to bake

To wake up on a sunny morning is the most beautiful start of a day.
Until you get out of bed and discover it's freezing cold, actually ^__^.
But, OK, since there are a couple ways to fight it and none of them includes being still, my house has been filled with wonderful smells all day round, driving my neighbours crazy, of course. The lady who lives above my appartment told me her husband comes home full of hope, as he can smell beautiful things while climbing the stairs, only to discover she didn't bake anything. I'm mostly sorry for the elderly lady next door, who's diabetic, I know I'm torturing her, too.

Well, today, I haven't baked anything sweet... YET... but I've got a loaf of bread in the oven right now, and this heart and body warming soup ready for dinner when I and the girls get home from the swimming pool.
My daughter complained yesterday that "they always serve the same soup at school" (I haven't really understood which soup it is, though). Since she loves legumes (but only if they're creamy), I made this delicious red lentil soup. I hope she'll like it.



coriander seeds



Red Lentil Cream of Soup with Yogurt and Coriander


(4 servings):
150 g (5.3 oz) red lentils
2 celery stalks
1 carrot
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 TBspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon concentrated tomato purè
4 TBspoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
3 TBspoons coriander leaves/cilantro or 2 TBspoons parsley + 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
4 spoonfulls of Greek yogurt
salt, pepper

Put the lentils into a fine mesh sieve and rinse them well.
Bring about 1 liter (4 cups) of water to boil.
Chop the celery stalks, the carrot, the onion and the garlic and sautè in a casserolle with olive oil for about 5 minutes.
Add the lentils and the concentrated tomato purè, stir and then add in the slightly salted boiling water.
Cook until the lentils are soft (aprox. 20 minutes).
Purée the soup in a blender or using an immersion stick blender.
Add more salt if necessary and stir in the lemon juice.
Divide the warm soup between four soup bowls adding a spoonful of yogurt, finely chopped coriander/cilantro leaves and freshly ground pepper.




Crema di lenticchie rosse con yogurt e coriandolo


(per 4 persone):
150 di lenticchie rosse
2 coste di sedano
1 carota
1 cipolla
2 spicchi d'aglio
2 cucchiai di succo di limone
1 cucchiaino di concentrato di pomodoro
4 cucchiai di olio EVO
3 cucchiai di foglie di coriandolo tritate (o in alternativa, 2 cucchiai di prezzemolo + 1 cucchiaino coriandolo in grani macinato)
4 cucchiaiate di yogurt greco
sale, pepe


Mettete le lenticchie in un colino fitto e sciacquatele abbondantemente.
Portate a bollore circa 1 litro di acqua leggermente salata.
Tritate grossolanamente il sedano, la carota, la cipolla e l'aglio. Stufateli in una casseruola con l'olio di oliva per 5 minuti.
Aggiungete le lenticchie e il concentrato di pomodoro, coprite con l'acqua bollente e lasciate sobbollire finché le lenticchie non saranno ben morbide (circa una ventina di minuti).
Frullate il tutto con un frullatore fino a ottenere una crema omogenea.
Aggiustate di sale e unite il succo di limone.
Distribuite la crema calda in 4 piatti o ciotole, e completate ciascuno con un abbondante cucchiaiata di yogurt, coriandolo tritato e una spolverata di pepe.




Krem juha od crvene leće s jogurtom i korijanderom


(za 4 osobe):
150 g crvene leće
2 stapke celera
1 mrkva
1 glavica crvenog luka
2 češnja bijelog luka
2 žlice limunovog soka
1 žličica koncentrata rajčice
4 žlice ekstra djevičanskog maslinovog ulja
3 žlice nasjeckanog lista korijandera (ili 2 žlice nasjeckanog lista peršuna pomiješane sa žličicom mljevenih sjemenki korijandera)
4 velike žlice gustog jogurta (npr. grčkog)
sol, papar


Stavite leću u gusto cjedilo i dobro je isperite pod mlazom vode.
Stavite otprilike 1 litru malo posoljene vode da prokuha.
Nasjeckajte celer, mrkvu, luk i češnjak (ne presitno) i izdinstajte na maslinovom ulju oko 5 minuta.
Dodajte leću i koncentriranu rajčicu, zalijte ključalom vodom i kuhajte na laganoj vatri dok leće ne odmekne (oko 20 minuta).
Izmiksajte sve u blenderu ili štapnim mikserom, dosolite po potrebi i umiješajte limunov sok.
Rasporedite toplu juhu u četiri tanjura i u svaki dodajte veliku žlicu jogurta, nasjeckani list korijandera i svježe mljevenog papra.