Cook\'s Country - 2019-04-05

APRIL/MAY 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 29

SLOW COOKER

WITH EARTHY LENTILS, smoky
Spanish-style chorizo, and a heady mix
of garlic and warm spices, lentil and
chorizo soup is one of my favorites.
But there are days when I can’t bring
myself to do the hands-on work
involved: browning the sausage, sauté-
ing the vegetables, frying the garlic
and spices to bloom their fl avors, and
hauling out the blender to puree a
portion of the lentils to thicken the
soup. I began to wonder if all the work
was necessary. Could I just toss all the
ingredients into my slow cooker and
come back a few hours later to fi nd the
soup I love?
Though my initial attempts at doing
so held some promise, they yielded
soups that were one-dimensional and,
for lack of a better word, a little bor-
ing. The savory, creamy lentils almost
carried the soup on their own—and
I was happy to fi nd that they didn’t
break down into total mush—but they
needed some support. I wanted an easy
lentil soup with savory depth, complex
spice fl avor, and brightness to balance
the earthy lentils, as well as a colorful,
fresh garnish to set off the fl avors I’d
built into the soup.
To ensure savory depth in my
soup, I began with an aromatic base
of chopped onion and carrots along
with a can of diced tomatoes and some
chicken broth. The tomatoes contrib-
uted a bright acidity that highlighted
the subtle fl avors of the lentils. Adjust-
ing the amount of chicken broth so
that the soup was neither too watery
nor too thick and stew-like proved to
be key.
To achieve the complex spice
fl avor I was after, I began by care-
fully choosing my chorizo. I looked
for cured, ready-to-eat Spanish-style
chorizo; it has a texture similar to that
of hard salami and off ers a complex
blend of richness and smoked paprika
fl avor. From there, I tinkered with the
seasonings until I landed on a mixture
that would complement the chorizo
and lentils: fresh garlic and thyme
along with cumin, coriander, cinna-
mon, a bay leaf, and, for punch, a bit
of cayenne pepper.
A healthy glug of dry white wine
introduced a pleasant acidity to cut the
soup’s richness and brighten its fl avors.
A dollop of cool, slightly tart yogurt
and a sprinkling of fresh parsley added

a further contrast of bright color and

fl avor. Now this was the soup I’d

been hoping for. As I stood over my

last test batch of stir-together lentil

and chorizo soup, I grinned happily,

knowing I’d found an easier path to an

even better version of the soup I loved

so much.

SLOW-COOKER LENTIL

AND CHORIZO SOUP

Serves 4 to 6

For the best results, use a dry-cured

Spanish-style chorizo in this recipe. If

Spanish-style chorizo is unavailable,

you can substitute Portuguese linguiça

sausage. We like to serve individual

portions of this soup drizzled with

plain yogurt and sprinkled with

chopped fresh parsley.

4 cups chicken broth

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes,

drained

8 ounces Spanish-style chorizo

sausage, sliced ¼ inch thick

1 cup dried brown lentils, picked over

and rinsed

1 onion, chopped fi ne

2 carrots, peeled and chopped fi ne

½ cup dry white wine

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon table salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

Combine all ingredients in slow

cooker. Cook until lentils are tender,

5 to 6 hours on high or 7 to 8 hours

on low. Discard thyme sprigs and bay

leaf. Serve.

Lentil and Chorizo Soup

One powerhouse ingredient—chorizo—brings smoky, spicy, meaty fl avor to this simple lentil soup.

by Matthew Fairman

All About Lentils

Finishing touches

of tangy yogurt and

fresh parsley bring

the other flavors

into focus.

Cook and break down more

quickly than other kinds

All-purpose lentils that can be

subbed for brown

French imports with an earthy

richness

Delicious, aff ordable, readily

available, and our choice here

BROWN

LENTILS

LENTILLES

DU PUY

GREEN

LENTILS

RED

LENTILS