Lentil Soup with Garlic Drop Biscuits

It's been alternating between cold and hot weather here in Southeast Michigan. Yesterday was a cold one, so it was the right day for a hearty bowl of lentil soup and fresh biscuits.

I've been playing with lentil soups, and I now have the perfect recipe that gets about a 4.5 overall on my family's scale. 

Lentil Soup Recipe

1 TBS olive oil

1 large sweet yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

6 cups water

2 large bouillon cubes, crumbled (I used Edward & Sons Not-Chick'n)

1 1/2 cups red lentils (picked over and rinsed)

Heat the oil in the pan over medium-high heat and add the onion and carrot.Cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook briefly, then add all of the spices and stir until fragrant. 

Put the mix into the pressure cooker, then add the water, bouillon, and rinsed lentils.Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes, and allow for a natural release. I am sure you can do this over the stovetop, too, if you don't have a pressure cooker, but if you have one, use it here! On the stovetop, just keep everything in the same pan and cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender. This makes 6 servings.

While the cooker is doing its magic, you can make the biscuits. Drop biscuits are THE way to get fresh bread on the table with minimal effort.

Drop Biscuit Recipe

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum)

2 cups all purpose flour

1 TBS sugar

1 TBS baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup plain soy milk

Preheat the oven to 450. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder and mix well. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender (easiest) or forks, until it looks like crumbs. Stir in soy milk until everything is just combined. Over-mixing will make terrible biscuits, so don't do that.  

Drop 12 equal portions of dough onto a non-stick (or greased) cookie sheet, then cook for 9-12 minutes on the middle rack. I told you it was easy!! The garlic flavor isn't very strong, so if you're not counting calories, you could melt some margarine and add in fresh garlic and parsley, then brush the tops of cooked biscuits with that. But they're really rich and don't need butter at all.

Nutrition Info:

Soup (1.25 cups)          Biscuits (each)
                                                         
Calories 207                  Calories 152
Fat 3.4g                         Fat 8.3g
Carbs 33 g                     Carbs 16 g
Fiber 8.5 g                     Fiber 1 g
Sugars 5.3 g                   Sugars 2.2 g
Protein 11.9 g                Protein 2.6 g
Vitamin A 72%              Vitamin A 1%
Vitamin C 8%                Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 6%                   Calcium 3%
Iron 18%                       Iron 4%