Adas bi Hamod (Lebanese Lentil, Chard and Lemon Soup)

• 500 g Swiss chard, leaves and stems, chopped
• 1 cup (200 g) small brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 litre water
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1½ tsp salt, for the soup
• ¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup (125 g) chopped onion
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed with 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp salt, for crushing the garlic
• 2 tsp dried mint
• 1 bunch coriander (50 g), chopped
• 1 cup (120 g) diced carrot
• 1½ cups (210 g) diced potato
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
• lemon wedges, to serve (optional)

Method

The cook speaks Arabic; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. For subtitles, tap CC in the video, then Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate › English.

1. Wash the chard well, separate the leaves from the thick stems and chop both into bite-sized pieces. 1:05
2. Put the chard, the rinsed lentils, the water, the chicken stock and 1½ tsp salt into a large pot. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer while you make the onion base. 3:10
3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion until soft and golden. Stir in the garlic crushed with salt, then the cumin, dried mint and black pepper. 4:57
4. Add the chopped coriander and stir for a minute or two until it wilts and smells fragrant. 6:30
5. Add the carrot, the potato and the onion and coriander mixture to the pot. Stir, cover and simmer on low heat for about 1 hour, until the lentils and vegetables are soft. 7:07
6. Stir in the lemon juice, taste for salt and sourness, and simmer a couple of minutes more. 8:20
7. Ladle into bowls and serve hot with lemon wedges. 9:45

Tip. Serves about 6 (our estimate from the 2.7 litres it makes). Lebanese bread is the usual side. Using unsalted stock and half the salt cuts the sodium a lot; keeps 4 days in the fridge.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.