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Recipe Tags: Weeknight 30 Minutes Or Less Time To Make Course Main Ingredient Cuisine Preparation Occasion Healthy Main Dish Soups Stews Beans Vegetables French Spanish European Fall Low Fat Vegan Vegetarian Winter Pressure Cooker Stove Top Dietary Low Cholesterol Seasonal Low Saturated Fat Low Calorie Inexpensive Lentils Healthy 2 Low In Something Equipment

Vegan Lentil Soup In 20 Minutes

I admit, the first time i used a pressure cooker i was a little afraid. I left my studio and stood on the other side of the door to avoid severe burning and disfigurement if my pot of legumes exploded. I called a friend to ask her if i was doing it right. But now i see the pressure cooker like a trusted friend who only wants to save me some valued time. So when i saw this lentil recipe in veganomicon by isa chandra moskowitz and the preparation time of 1 hour, i was so glad i had a pressure cooker to cut the time by nearly two-thirds, borrowing a technique from the spanish and the lentils with chorizo sausage recipe (recipe #342592). The first thing i did was skip the step where you sauté the onion and carrots for 10 minutes. It's unnecessary, and you'll find that my method makes a soup with a smoother, more pleasant consistency by cooking the vegetables whole or halved, then removing and pureeing them afterwards. My kitchen has a surplus of brown lentils, so those are what i used. I'

Steps

Place lentils in pressure cooker.
Peel carrot , onion and garlic cloves , seed tomatoes.
Add the vegetables , whole , to pressure cooker along with bay leaves.
Add cold water or broth , salt to taste , paprika and herbs to pressure cooker and bring to boil , uncovered.
When it starts to boil , place pressure-cooker cover and seal.
When the pressure-indicator rises let cook 8 minutes.
Turn off heat , carefully move handle to safe position to eliminate pressure.
Wait for all steam to clear and open.
Discard bay leaf.
Transfer onion , carrot , tomatoes and garlic to a mixing bowl and blend with hand-blender.
You may have to quarter the onion to get the blender to work on it.
Return pureed vegetables to lentils , mix well and serve with french bread.

Ingredients

olive oil, yellow onion, carrot, plum tomatoes, garlic cloves, dried tarragon, dried thyme, paprika, water, brown lentils, bay leaves, salt, fresh ground black pepper