lentil soup/salad (stove-top version)

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The backstory here is that my parents cleaned out the leftovers from the fridge and unknowingly threw out the chicken shawarma that I intended to eat for lunch. As a result, I had to cook up something hearty... fast. I saw a lentil salad recipe in The Book of Tapas by Simone and Inés Ortega (2016) and adjusted it to available ingredients in the fridge and in the kitchen cupboards.

(I may have disrupted some of my mom's dinner menu plans because of the lentil soup.)

Lentil Soup/Salad

Ingredients (serves 8)

2.5 cups lentils
1 large onion, chopped brunoise
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken, pre-cooked (in this case, roasted)
salt (to taste)
2 tbsp. soy sauce

sesame oil (to taste)
lemon juice (to taste)

Instructions

Put all the ingredients (except the sesame oil) in a pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer. Stir occasionally. Continue simmering the soup until the lentils are tender. In this case, 30 mins. Turn the heat off. At this stage, it's a lentil soup. Just add lemon juice and sesame oil, and it's ready to eat. To make it a salad, just drain the liquid and add it to salad greens, meats, and dressing.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins

Reception

Mommy and Daddy liked this dish quite a bit. Because it is low in salt (I like my viands on the non-salty side), Mommy suggested adding a bit more.

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