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I’m posting this today, on a Saturday, because a) I am eating the leftovers from this meal right now and they are OUTSTANDING and, b) my blog needs an updating pretty badly and, c) I am too drained to be anything even approaching witty and, d) I don’t have to be witty to post a recipe.  Oh, and e) you all LOVE my recipes.  Right?

The recipe this was based off of is called a soup, but I don’t believe it.  It’s extremely thick and hearty, satisfying and filling; I kind of just have to call it a stew.  It’s made in a pretty fascinating way, and the resulting layers of flavor (from the tomato paste and coconut milk to the minced ginger and toasted curry powder) are complicated but uniquely delicious.

My cabinets are currently emptied of all of their contents, which are spread before me on my kitchen table so that I can work cleverly before we move to use as much of what we have as I can.  (We aren’t allowed to ship dry goods.)  The original recipe for this soup (stew) called for red lentils and yellow split peas, but all I had were regular ol’ lentils (green, I think), pearl barley and many a variety of rice, so I went with it.  I’m almost 100% sure you could use any combo of legume and grain and still end up with a tasty result.  Enjoy.

Lentil + Barley Curry Soup

Serves 4-6

1/3 cup pearl barley
1 cup lentils
7 cups water (but I used veggie stock, because I had it)
1 medium carrot, diced (but I would up this to at least 3)
2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons butter
8 green onions sliced
1/3 cup golden raisins (I omitted these because I didn’t have them and wasn’t going to buy anything that would be 100% gone when the recipe was over)
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt

Rinse and pick over the lentils and barley.  Place them, along with the water, in a large soup pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer, adding the carrot and 1/4 of the minced ginger.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small dry skillet over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is fragrant, but be careful with this because it will burn quickly. Set aside. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, remaining ginger, and raisins (if using). Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another two minutes more.

Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add the whole lot to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so (or until the barley is soft). The texture will thicken the longer you cook it (and the barley will make a thicker soup than the split peas); add more water to thin it, if you prefer, or simmer longer for a thicker consistency.

Sprinkle each bowl generously with the remaining green onions.  You could also garnish with sliced almonds and cilantro and serve over rice.

This is recipe nº 2 that I mentioned having in my pocket last week, and can I just say that I had a REALLY hard time keeping it to myself for this long? It’s that good.

I make a LOT of soup in the wintertime. About two years ago, I found a soup-only cookbook in the sale section at Borders for $6, and once the cold weather rolls around, I use it to inspire at least one recipe per week. My only complaint is that my soups never look ANYTHING like the pictures (this one included). There was one time in particular when my cabbage soup turned out PURPLE, though there was not the merest hint of this hue in the photo. The soup was delicious in the end, though the tint was a bit disturbing. Give a little, get a little, I guess. :)

The recipe I’ll share today was one I made two weeks ago. It was so flavorful that I devoured the leftovers in short order, and wished to make it again this week (Glen put an end to that!). One caveat: It’s spicy. If heat isn’t your thing, be warned. You could always reduce the number of chiles or use a blander type of sausage. I don’t eat pork and couldn’t find chicken chorizo anywhere (though I did find “soyrizo” and was intrigued, but didn’t commit to it). Instead I substituted chicken andouille sausage. Next time I’ll go with a plain chicken sausage, as the whole thing gave Glen the hiccups at first taste. (Hilarious to me, but less fun for him.)

And please forgive my photo-of-a-photo!

Corn, Chile + Chorizo Soup

Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon corn oil
2 onions, chopped
1 lb 4 oz frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups whole milk
4 chipotle chiles, seeded and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 oz thinly sliced chorizo sausage (or some other chicken sausage — I used andouille, but that was a touch spicy)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (or dried, if you hate buying — a.k.a. wasting — fresh herbs, as I do)

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottom saucepan. Add the onions and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the corn, cover, and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Add the stock, half the milk, the chiles, and garlic and season with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Stir in the remaining milk. Set aside about 1 cup of the soup solids, draining off as much liquid as possible. Using either an immersion blender, or transferring the remaining soup to a food processor or blender, process to a coarse purée.

Return the processed soup to the pan and stir in the reserved soup solids, the chorizo, lime juice, and cilantro. Reheat to simmering, stirring continuously. Ladle into warmed bowls and serve at once.

If you make this, let me know!  And if yours turns out looking like the photo, I’d appreciate being let in on the secret. :)