Swiss Chard, Lentil and Lemon Soup

I made this soup a while ago and when I posted it on Facebook I got so many requests for the recipe. I had to make it again just so I could figure out...uh...how I made it?! This is mom's recipe for lentils cooked with potatoes and swiss chard in a lemony broth. The problem is mom passed the recipe from her brain to mine, Star Trek-style. No recipe, no nothing.

So while it looks like I blew you guys off when you requested the details, I was secretly panicking that now I would have to reverse-engineer this process... So today I had a craving for this soup and decided, what the heck, I have some time to re-create it.

This is a very popular soup in Lebanon but it requires a pressure cooker. So if you have one, you are going to be thrilled at how quickly it comes together. Another healthy low calorie, low fat dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. Do you love me? Yeah...Whatevs...

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
5 - 6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped, about 1/3 cup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bunch Swiss chard or red chard
1 medium russet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch dice
6 oz green lentils, picked through for small stones, rinsed
7 cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of 2 lemons, about 1/3 cup.

Method:

Gather your ingredients.

Get your mise en place together, meaning chop all the ingredients and get them ready to go so when you start cooking, you're not dashing about like mad trying to do 600 things at once. Starting with the onions...

Garlic...

And cilantro... Here they all are.

Next, prepare the Swiss chard. As you can see, I have red chard, which is basically the same except for the gorgeous red hue. I prefer red anyway, because it gives a beautiful pop of color to this delicious soup. Start by rinsing the chard under cold running water.

Here's how you cut up the chard. Lay the chard flat and chop off the stem, right where it the leaves end and the tough stalk begins.

Next, slice the leaf into three or 4 strips depending on how wide it is.

Next chop the leaves into 1/2 to 1-inch strips by stacking the sliced leaves on top of each other. Once you get comfortable with this, you may double up on the chard strips to slice them. It goes a lot faster that way.

Once the chard has been chopped, place it in a bowl and then peel and chop the potato into 1/2 inch dice.

Heat the oil in the pressure cooker and add the onions, garlic, cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Next, add the chopped chard and the potato.

Add the rinsed lentils.

Add the water. Note: add just enough water that it comes halfway up the pressure cooker's sides, NO MORE. If the water level is too high, you can ruin the pressure cooker's steam release mechanism/valve. Also, you can always add more later if your soup is too thick but you can't take water out.

Here's what it looks like before you close the lid on the pressure cooker.

Close the pressure cooker and move the valve to the CLOSED position. This will allow pressure to build up. Once the inside pressure gets to the high levels required to cook food, the pressure cooker will start to release steam, either steadily building up or in bursts. Listen for this signal; it takes about 8 minutes or so. When you hear the steam escape, that's your cue to turn the heat down to low. Start your timer when you turn the flame down. Time the lentils for 8-10 minutes.

When your timer goes off, turn the dial on the top of the pressure cooker to the open position. BE VERY CAREFUL, the escaping steam is fast, loud, and of course, EXTREMELY HOT. Before you release the steam, turn the pressure cooker so the steam is not facing you or hitting your cabinets or microwave. It will be loud and vigorous but do not be concerned; this is normal. If you look closely you will see the escaping steam below.

Once the steam has slowed down to near-nothing, or has stopped completely, you may open the pressure cooker. The soup will be visibly boiling. This is the beauty of the pressure cooker. Perfectly done beans and lentils that would normally take hours stove-top. 

Add salt and pepper to tase.

Finally, add the lemon juice. This soup is has a very assertive lemon flavor which complements the lentils, Swiss chard and potatoes nicely.

Serve as is for a low-carb option, or with crusty bread if you are one of the lucky ones who can eat bread any ol' time. Enjoy!