CREAMY FRENCH LENTIL SOUP

Its still soup weather here in Western NY.  It hints sometimes of warming up but it is only a tease at this point.  I love winter but I am ready now for the weather to turn warm.  I'm ready for stuff to grow.  Ready for the Farmers Market and ready to get my own garden growing.

CREAMY FRENCH LENTIL SOUP

1 cup French Green Lentils or Black Beluga
2 pounds mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons thyme
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic
1 quart beef broth
1/2 cup white wine
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
a couple grinds of black pepper

Bring a medium saucepan of water (about 2 1/2 cups) to a boil. Add the lentils to the water along with a fat pinch of salt. Simmer the lentils until they’re just tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions and stir. Cook the onions until slightly softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Saute mushrooms until golden. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and thyme to the pot and stir. Once the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds, add the white wine, broth and soy sauce to the pan. Add the lentils. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Just before serving add in the milk to soup.  Heat until just warmed and serve.

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Love mushrooms.  Do you?  Do you know how good they are for you?  I remember a time when professional health care people thought there was no benefit to mushrooms.  Nothing really to speak of nutritionally in mushrooms.  Ah, but they just didn't even know yet.  The one great thing about mushrooms is that they can serve as highlighters for cancer cells.  They kind of tag cancer cells so that the body can identify the cancer cells and attack them.  They say one mushroom a day is enough to do this task.  Pretty efficient, huh?  And it doesn't matter whether you eat them fresh, dried or cooked.  Awesome.  So get a little mushroom in your diet.

This certainly is one delicious way to do it. This mushroom cream over pasta.  We loved it.  Even my picky girl said she would eat.  She said of course she would have to pick out the little bits of mushroom in there.  Goodness, gracious.

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

6 ounces mushrooms
3/4 cup onion, minced fine
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
4 ounces of light beer
1 cup milk, your preference, I used a combination of 2% and half and half
1/2 cup pecorino Romano or Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
1 pound cooked pasta

In a large deep frying pan, saute onions and mushroom in butter until tender.  Add chopped garlic, cook one minute more.  Add in beer and then cream.  Sprinkle flour over mixture and then stir in until absorbed. Toss in cooked pasta.

I like to time it so my pasta finishes about the same time. I ladle (with a slotted spoon) the pasta right into the frying pan. No matter if some of the water gets in there. A little bit anyhow. Once completely tossed, pour into serving bowl and sprinkle with parmesan and  parsley .