I’ve posted this recipe on these pages once before, but I thought it was worth repeating. I love how the aromatic cumin and cinnamon and lemon flavors in this soup are so different from the spice combinations I usually use.

The box of vegetables I picked up a couple of days ago contained two huge bunches of collard greens, and I could see that they were just aching to be made into this warm, aromatic soup. It took a day or two, but I finally gathered up all my ingredients, and started chopping. Well almost all. Because most unexpectedly, after I’d rinsed and chopped all the greens, I discovered, for the first time in probably decades, that we were completely out of onions. So I did the only thing I could think of, which was to increase the garlic to 10 cloves. Or maybe 15. There were a lot.

And even still it came out great, so there you are. By the way, I doubled the recipe, which turned into a lot of soup. I brought some to work for lunch, and I brought a second jarful for a friend. And there is plenty more where that came from.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed and drained
6 cups vegetable stock
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch collard greens – rinsed, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/3 cup lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons approx)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stir in onion and salt, and cook 4 minutes until softened and translucent. Stir in lentils, and cook for 1 minute.

Add stock, bring to a boil over high heat, lower heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes until lentils are tender.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add collard greens to skillet, and cook 10 minutes until wilted. Stir greens into the soup, and season with cumin, cinnamon, and garlic. Simmer 10 minutes more, stir in lemon juice, and serve.

Bon appetit!