www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Food - Recipes Recipes for Lent

Lentil and vegetable soup

very handy if you have a pressure cooker

You will need - red lentils - I normally use dried ones , onions, an assortment of root veggies, some vegetable stock and salt and pepper

into your big soup pot throw
Chopped onions
diced potato , turnip [ wee white ones are nice ] Carrot, Swede [ yellow turnip ? ] - oh anything handy until the pan is about half full

Sweat it off till the pot is about a quarter full.

Add in about 6-8 oz rinsed lentils and stir like mad - they do tend to stick to the bottom

Now add some really good Veggie stock till the contents are covered

Bring to the boil and simmer till lentils are cooked - please stir regularly to stop the lentils sticking.

If you have a pressure cooker bring to 15lbs pressure and cook for about 25 mins - yes I do find a longish cook helps.

Once done - reduce pressure and take lid off

Then - remove about half the contents after another good stir and whizz them in a blender / food processor until you have a thick mushy mess then add back to original pan - stir and heat.

If you can make the day before - this does tend to thicken up

Take fennel bulb and cut off the fronds and slice thinly, slice yellow squash and zuchinni-diced, chop garlic, slice mushrooms.

Saute the fennel till soft,then add the zuchinni,mushrooms and yellow squash and saute till tender,add garlic when squash is almost tender making sure you do not brown the garlic or it will taste bitter. Season with salt and pepper.

Boil small chunky pasta likeditalini or tubetini till al dente then drain and add to vegetables.

Depending on your typikon you may add grated cheese. I do is if I have left overs the next day
I stretch this by adding tomato sauce and canned beans of your choice and seasoning with basil, oregano to taste.

Jeff

This recipe has a special place in my heart -- I served it to my dear husband the first time he came to my apartment for dinner. The rest, as they say, is history.

Lentils, Spinach, and Rice -- with curry seasoning

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 2 gloves garlic, mashed
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 cup dried lentils, washed
• 4 cups veggie broth
• 1/2 cup uncooked basmati rice
• 2 10-oz boxes frozen spinach, defrosted
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp coriander
• 2 tsp turmeric

Saute onion, celery, and garlic in oil. When celery and onions are clear, add lentils and mix together to coat lentils in oil.
Add salt and broth (or water) and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes (until lentils are al dente).
Add rice, bring to boil and reduce heat again; simmer for 15 minutes.
Add spinach and an additional cup of broth/water; add remaining seasonings.
Cover and simmer until the rice is done to the consistency you like.

Scalloped Potatoes

5 pounds potatoes, 4 cups shredded cheese, 1/2 cup butter, 3 cups sour cream...

Ooops! This is a Pascha recipe!

Lentil Spaghetti Sauce -- this one is so hearty, I truly don't miss the meat!

Sautee:

• 4 tbs oil
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic

Add:

• 2 cups lentils
• 4 cups veggie broth
• 1-1/2 tsp salt

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.
Add:

• 1 28-oz can tomatoes, chopped
• 1 12-oz can tomato paste
• 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp basil
• 1 tsp black pepper

Bring to a boil, then simmer 10-15 minutes.

Our newspaper carried a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens' "America's Ethnic Cuisines" (Meredith Books, 2003) that I have modified for Great Lent. The original combined chicken and shrimp in a soup. I omitted the chicken and substituted vegetable stock for chicken broth to make it Lenten. The oil might still prove not acceptable for strict fasting. Onion could be cooked in a non-stick pan, but I think it still takes the heat generated by the oil to make the flavor come out of the cumin seeds and to crisp the tortillas.

Shrimp Tortilla Soup

6 ounces fresh or frozen medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Crisp Tortilla Shreds (recipe follows)
I large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon cooking oil
4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
14 1/2 oz can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
3 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice

Thaw shrimp, if frozen.
Prepare crisp tortila shreds and set aside.
In a large saucepan, cook the onion and cumin seeds in hot oil about five minutes or until onion is tender. Add vegetable stock, undrained tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat; simmer, covered for 8 minutes. Stir in shrimp. Cook about 3 minutes more or until shrimp turn pink, stirring occasionally. Top each serving with tortilla shreds.

Note: This recipe originally called for 1 2/3 cups of shredded chicken. One might substitute more shrimp for more substance. Water chestnuts or mushrooms might offer other options for the omitted chicken.

Crisp Tortilla shreds
4 5 1/2 inch corn tortillas
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Brush tortillas with cooking oil. In a small bowl, combine salt and ground black pepper; sprinkle mixture on tortillas. Cut tortillas into thin strips. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven about 8 minutes or until crisp.

Walnut bread

Need
225grm Strong [ bread] plain flour
450 grm malted Granary flour
2 X 7grm sachets of fast action dried yeast
175grm walnuts , roughly chopped
100grm dried apricots chopped
2 tbsp walnut oil
2 tbsp clear honey

1) Mix together the plain and Granary flour in a large bowl. Add 2 tsps of salt along with the yeast , chopped walnuts and apricots. Stir in 425 mils of warm water , add walnut oil and honey and then mix into a soft dough.

2) Knead the dough for 10 mins on a lightly floured board. Shape into a ball and place into an oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise for an hour until doubled in size

3) Preheat the oven to 220C gas mark 7. Remove the dough from the bowl and cut in half. Shape 2 round loaves and place on a floured baking sheet. Make small cuts in the surface of the dough. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise for another 30 mins.

4) remove the clingfilm and bake for 10 mins. Reduce the oven temp to 190/gas 5 and bake for another 20 mins untilthe bread sounds hollow when tapped.

Umm - Granary Flour - rough brown flour with bits in - the best way I can describe it.

Try using some light tea instead of the water with this [ still warm of course ]

Walnut , Orange and rocket salad.

Serves 4
Required
3 tbsp walnut oil
50g walnut halves
3 oranges
80g bag watercress
2X40g Rocket
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1) Heat oil in a frying pan and cook the walnuts over a medium heat for 1 or 2 mins, until lightly toasted. Take care as they burn quickly and become bitter. Remove walnuts from the pan and drain on Kitchen paper.

2) Working over a bowl to save the juice, peel the oranges and remove all of the pith. Cut between the thin membranes to remove the orange segments ; seat aside the juices.

3)Put watercress, rocket and orange segments into a separate bowl with the toasted walnuts. Toss together well .

4) Drain the remaining oil from the pan into the bowl of orange juice , add the balsamic vinegar and whisk. Just before serving drizzle the dressing over the salad , toss well and divide among the 4 plates.

Our Lady's Slave of Love,


Saving these and the lentil soup one. Yummy! God Bless you. May your Lenten time be fruitful including those apricots.

This sounds delicious. Can you please send me a loaf or two for testing purposes?

hahahahaha

I have a feeling that the customs folk would not be too happy with this

Also sending it by e-mail would be phenominally expensive and the 4 weeks for surface mail would not be too good for it.

Sorry - you are just going to have to do it yourself and think of the fun you have kneading the bread - getting rid of all the tensions caused by political threads

Tomato Rice Soup for Lent.

Especially good this season on Valentine's Day. :p

This was a recipe my mother used. We just never wrote the soup ones down so that each one was a separate creation. This is my first time writing it out after 40 some years of making the creations.

Use two medium cans of stewed tomatoes or chop up about 8 small fresh ones or a combination of the two. (One can and 4 small chopped tomatoes) Add one small can of tomato paste. Add about three cups of water. Also chop up two or three long pieces of celery and half a white onion(yellow is okay but white is sweeter)as well as half of a fresh green pepper. (a teaspoon of dried green peppers work okay too) Toss in a tablespoon of margarine, butter, or olive oil. Add thyme, basil, and parsley to taste. (more or less). A wee bit of rosemary is okay but don't overdo it or it will taste too much of the rosemary. Add a little salt and pepper if desired. Careful not too much pepper.

Cook slowly and on low heat in a pot on the stove top for about 45 minutes or until celery, peppers, and onions are soft. Don't boil on high. Stirr every five minutes or so or between postings on the forum.

Add a cup of white rice and see that all boils for another 15 minutes. The last 5 minutes of cooking I usually add a dash of baking soda to cut the acid a bit. When finished cooking let stand a few minutes before pouring into soup bowls. (while the soup is cooking you can always add water if it is getting too thick)but...

Sometimes if I want the mixture to be thicker and saltier I add a can of Campbell's tomato soup about the same time I add the dash of soda and stirr it all up well. Mother never did that. At any rate it's not necessary - just another option.

Mary Jo

Hey Neil,

Know the horrible thing about blood thinners?

NO HUMAS! NOTTA ONCE! WAAHHHHH

Can you imagine life without humas, it is terrible!

Pani Rose

OK count be dumb.
ANGELAs
What is Rocket?

Pani Rose

Rose,

For use in translating Anhelyna-ese

English to American Dictionary [english2american.com]

which has been of great assistance in reading e-mails from my nephews - but, particularly helpful in translating recipes from my sister and cousins in Ireland, Scotland, and England.

Many years,

Neil