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French Lentil Soup

Description

French Lentil Soup | 2008 Syrah (January 2012)

We recently attended a Colorado Winemaker's Round Table here in Boulder where the wine of the evening was Syrah. We each brought a bottle of our Syrah, stacked the deck with a few ringers, and proceeded to taste the wines blind, critique, and share winemaking techniques. As always there is ample cheer and food pairings to explore.

We decided to craft a lentil soup to pair with our 2008 Syrah. Truth be told, we hadn't made this soup previously and after perusing many of our recipe books developed ingredients tailored to the flavor and structure of our Northern Rhône styled Syrah.

1 Head Garlic
2 White, Sweet Onions
3 Carrots
2 Stalks Celery
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Liters Water
8 Porcini Dadi (mushroom bouillon cubes)
2 Tbls Aleppo Pepper
2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Lemon Pepper
3 Cups French Green Lentils, or Le Puy Lentils
4 Slices Bread - Rustic Italian, Semolina, or Similar.
1 Bunch Italian Parsley

Peel the garlic, onions, and carrots. Chop the peeled vegetables and celery stalks into small pieces. Place the water along with the Porcini Dadi (Bouillon Cubes) into a large kettle and bring to a boil. Sauté the garlic and onion until translucent, add the carrots, celery, and continue to sauté until soft and season with lemon pepper and half of the aleppo pepper. Break the bread into small pieces (crust removed) and puree into about 1 Liter of the boiling stock. Combine the puree, stock, chopped vegetables, and lentils in the kettle and return to a boil and then simmer until the lentils are soft (about 45 minutes to an hour). Toast the fennel seeds and cumin until the aroma is released and then grind with a mortar and pestle. Once the lentils are soft, add the ground spices, a majority of the chopped parsley leaves, and remaining aleppo pepper (to taste). Garnish the bowl with the remaining chopped parsley leaves and extra virgin olive oil. Buon Appetito!

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