So, being that I had a gourmet ingredient ready to roll, I figured I'd make a gourmet soup this weekend! I found this recipe, which was originally served at the (now-closed) Bar Tartine restaurant in nearby San Francisco, and was inspired by the chef's Hungarian father. You know I like "interesting," so this one looked right up my alley... But how did it turn out?
This recipe came from: https://www.sunset.com/recipe/black-garlic-lentil-soup
*Pic 1 - https://www.sunset.com/recipe/black-garlic-lentil-soup
Variations from Recipe as Written: I used olive oil rather than lard or grapeseed oil to sauté the veggies. And, I used 16oz of mushrooms instead of just 12oz (because package size). But, other than that, I stuck to the recipe as written.General Thoughts: Just looking at the ingredient list, you can see that this one is certainly not the easiest prep you'll ever do for a soup. The cooking was pretty straightforward, but there was a fair bit of chopping, dicing, and slicing, not to mention the number of specialized ingredients required (such as the black garlic, Hungarian paprika, black lentils, and dry-cured paprika sausage). It really didn't feel too bad overall, but it did take a little bit of time.
Another thing to note, unless you are making for a crowd (6+), there is no need to multiply this recipe. As written, this recipe made A LOT, and the result was super hearty and filling. So, don't go crazy...
*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it
Potential Improvements? As much as it kills me to say it, next time I'll probably do things like seed the serrano, use just 1 tbsp of hot Hungarian paprika, etc. to make the final product more palatable to the masses (my best friend Jayson would not have survived this one!). I would (of course) cook it a bit longer to ensure the lentils were fully soft. I would use more sausage, maybe even up to doubling what is called for by the recipe. And, I think next time I'll leave the tomatoes out all together, and maybe cut the roasted red peppers by half; they made for a weird texture thing for me.
This recipe can be summed up in three words: spicy, spicy, spicy! :-) I expected some spice, based on the ingredient list (including a serrano chile, dried chiles de arbol, a spicy sausage, and hot Hungarian paprika), but the soup wound up too spicy for Fox and Becky to eat it. You know I am a fire eater, and it had the PERFECT level of spice for me, so that should tell you what you need to know: if making this one for general consumption, you need to do some swapping or decrease some of the amounts of the spicier ingredients.
Beyond the spice, however, the flavor was amazingly good! It was deep and rich, very complex and interesting. I could definitely taste the black garlic, which was great, and the paprika danced on the tongue. Eat bite of sausage was also a treat, but there wasn't nearly enough of it. This soup was packed with veggies, which were (mostly) yummy, and the lentils were a terrific starchy filler. However, it is worth mentioning that even though I soaked the lentils beforehand, they turned out a little underdone when I stuck to the cooking times in the recipe, so make sure they get cooked through before pulling this soup off the heat.
Finally, a quick note about the sour cream as a garnish... Not only did it serve to effectively soften the spice, but it also helped give this soup a more authentic Eastern European flavor!
Beyond the spice, however, the flavor was amazingly good! It was deep and rich, very complex and interesting. I could definitely taste the black garlic, which was great, and the paprika danced on the tongue. Eat bite of sausage was also a treat, but there wasn't nearly enough of it. This soup was packed with veggies, which were (mostly) yummy, and the lentils were a terrific starchy filler. However, it is worth mentioning that even though I soaked the lentils beforehand, they turned out a little underdone when I stuck to the cooking times in the recipe, so make sure they get cooked through before pulling this soup off the heat.
Finally, a quick note about the sour cream as a garnish... Not only did it serve to effectively soften the spice, but it also helped give this soup a more authentic Eastern European flavor!
Potential Improvements? As much as it kills me to say it, next time I'll probably do things like seed the serrano, use just 1 tbsp of hot Hungarian paprika, etc. to make the final product more palatable to the masses (my best friend Jayson would not have survived this one!). I would (of course) cook it a bit longer to ensure the lentils were fully soft. I would use more sausage, maybe even up to doubling what is called for by the recipe. And, I think next time I'll leave the tomatoes out all together, and maybe cut the roasted red peppers by half; they made for a weird texture thing for me.
Polling the Fam: I thought this one was really tasty... Super interesting and a bonanza of flavor, so I'd definitely make it again with my above improvements. The only other person in my house that could take the spice was Hunter, who said it was "pretty spicy" and would have been harder for him to eat without the sour cream and a good piece of bread. But, in the end, he said it was "good" and packaged up leftovers for later in the week.
Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)
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