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Monday, January 21, 2008

Today's Lunch is..


In ‘il mio laboratorio’ as we now call our cucina... filled with ingredients for testing of recipes for my upcoming books. For today’s lunch we had a choice of 4 different variations on the lentil soup that I and (my culinary assistant-Alessandra) prepared. The hearty recipe which is really more of a traditional one here in the mountains of Abruzzo this time of year- is what became our lunch..Alfonso and I enjoyed our heaping bowls with a glass of locally produced Montepulciano D’Abruzzo. Read about this heavenly juice here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montepulciano_d

Here is the chosen recipe..enjoy

2 cups of dry lentils soaked overnight in 4 cups of water
2 tblsps of extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 slice of fresh onion
1 small can of peeled tomatoes with juice or 1 lb of fresh plum tomatoes, peeled,seeded,cleaned
2 whole carrots
1 whole celery stick
Pinch of salt

4 slices of crusty bread broiled with drizzled olive oil, Sapori D’Italia spice blend on top

Saute olive oil, garlic and onion in soup pot and when just about golden add in tomatoes, lentils with water soaked in, whole carrots and celery. Cover and stir every so often. Cook until liquid just about evaporates and lentils are tender. If lentils have not finished cooking and liquid evaporates add in some water..

Arrange 2 slices of crostini bread in each soup dish, pour soup over bread and enjoy. You can even drizzle a little olive oil on top..

And if you want to know how healthy this dish is for you (too healthy for such a delicious dish) find out here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentil
http://www.foodsubs.com/Lentils.html

www.health.com/health/article/0,23414,1149140,00.html
italianfood.about.com/od/aboutingredients/a/aa012200.html


Buon Pranzo , enjoy your lunch..
Ciao for now, for more recipes go to http://www.marialiberati.com/
Get a free excerpt from the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com
Order your copy of the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati at http://www.marialiberati.com/ and receive $5 off retail price and free shipping..

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