From Sydney Food,
Bill Granger, Murdoch Books, 2000.
Recently discovered a small vegan cafe, Naked Espresso, in
the back of Berkelouw Books in Newtown. It is only open on Saturdays and
Sundays but worth a visit if you are in the neighbourhood on the weekend.
We tried a lentil vegetable soup that was just right on a
cold Saturday. I enjoyed it thoroughly though for my palate the herbs were a
touch too strong. It tempted me to try a lentil soup for myself.
The one I chose to make was with puy lentils that hold
together much more than the regular lentils. The soup was a breeze to make.
Carrots, onion and leek were sautéed in butter and olive oil for about 10
minutes. Then came garlic, celery and chilli to cook for a little longer. Next
a can of chopped tomatoes was added with stock, bay leaves, chopped oregano and
the puy lentils. This was brought to the boil and simmered for about half
an hour when it was seasoned to taste.
While the soup was cooking the Parmesan toasts were made.
Garlic and olive oil were whipped together and then brushed on slices of
focaccia. They were sprinkled with salt and grated Parmesan cheese. It was then
only a matter of baking them in the oven until crisp.
The soup was rich with vegetables and the bread especially
good to crunch along with it. I don’t think it came up to the one from Naked
Espresso but it was close.
Taste: ✔✔✔
Ease of
cooking: ✔✔✔✔
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