Today we have one of the biggest and longest storms we have had for many many years here in Denmark. All the TV channels report from the storm, the police advice everyone to stay indoor and one person has already been reported dead 😦 We had a hurricane back in October where three people lost their lives but it only lasted a few hours, whereas the storm today will last up to 24 hours. At the moment all bridges has been closed, national trains has stopped all traffic and some of the airports has cancelled all traffic for the rest of the day….

So what to do on a #do#not#leave#the#house#not#even#to#go#buy#groceries?? Well, I have been doing many things, some more interesting than others. First I have been preparing for tomorrow where we are going to make lots of beef jerky and one of my favorite christmas dishes: pheasant paté :-). Then I have played with some 100% chocolate and condensed milk, trying to make truffles – that did not go well (but it tasted fabulous). After that I decided to make soup for dinner, opened the kitchen cabinets and found a bag of red lentil – so it was an easy choice today as red lentil soup tastes delicious 🙂

While soup was cooking a made a few gloss paper christmas hearts (pictures will follow) and now I am enjoying a glass of Glenburgie-Glenlivet whisky and a piece of Amedei chocolate 🙂 And hopefully Chris will come home from work in a few hours, so that I won’t have to sleep alone!

Bag to the soup…. I have tasted lentil soup many times before but never made it myself. It was easier than expected and it tasted so delicious that I called Chris all excited to let him know that I had just made a perfect soup 🙂 Hope that you will try the recipe and leave a comment wether you like it , love it or hate it!

 

Ingredients (4 servings)

Soup

1 tbsp. butter

2 large onions

2 garlic cloves

1-2 red chili

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 large tomato

1 1/2 cup red lentils

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cream

1/3 cup red wine

Salt & pepper

 

Garnish

1 cup macadamia nuts

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 bundle pea shoots

 

Chop onions, garlic cloves, chili and tomato finely (today I used my Nicer Dicer – the smallest step). Melt the butter in a sauce pan and sauté onions, garlic and chili for 4-5 minutes. Add tomato paste and chopped tomatoes and sauté for yet a few minutes.

Add lentils, chicken stock and water, put the lid on the sauce pan and let cook on medium-low heat for 50-60 minutes. Stir occasionally to aviod burning.

Transfer the cook lentil soup to a stand blender and blend until smooth. Add milk, cream and red wine, blend again, taste and season with salt and pepper.

While the soup is cooking you can prepare the macadamia nuts. Chop the nuts roughly and roast them on a dry pan until the begin to take on color and release a nutty note.

Pour the soup into your prettiest soup plates and and garnish with pea shoots and roasted nuts or grated parmesan cheese and nuts – both testes wonderful 🙂

Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients (4 servings)

Soup

1 tbsp. butter

2 large onions

2 garlic cloves

1-2 red chili

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 large tomato

3.75 dl red lentils

1 liter chicken stock

2.5 dl water

2.5 dl milk

1.25 dl cream

0.8 dl red wine

Salt & pepper

 

Garnish

2.5 dl macadamia nuts

2.5 dl parmesan cheese, grated

1 bundle pea shoots