Brown Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup & Anzac Cookies from The Wholesome Kitchen

Now that the Thanksgiving leftovers are finally gone, many of you are probably wondering what to cook for dinner now. I know you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, after all that work last week ,and you want something light and the total opposite of all that super rich food food you ate.

I have just the recipe for you. It’s from The Wholesome Kitchen by Ross Dobson from Ryland Peters & Small, $24.95. I was just recently sent a copy of the book and made about 1/2 a dozen of the recipes from it. I loved every recipe I tried for it’s focus on wholesome, but tasty food (so did the family), but the recipe for Brown Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup was by far our favorite. It’s filling, but light and refreshing.

{{photo by Peter Cassidy}}

Brown Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup

4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
1 1/3 cups dried brown lentils
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
14 oz. Swiss chard, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
leaves from a small bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper

1. Put the stock and lentils in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 1 hour, uncovered, until the lentils are tender. Reduce the heat to low.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet set over high heat. Add the onion and garlic along with a pinch salt. Cook  for 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until softened.
3. Stir in the Swiss chard and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until wilted. Add the chard mixture to the lentils and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
4. Stir in the lemon juice and cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

We also loved the simple Anzac Cookies from The Wholesome Kitchen. Anzac cookies are sort of like the national cookie (or biscuits) of Australia and New Zealand. Read more about them here.

{{photo by Peter Cassidy}}

Anzac Cookies

3/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 cup organic whole oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons natural cane sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Put the coconut, oats, flour, and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the center.
3. Put the butter, honey and 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Warm until the butter has melted and the mixture is just starting to bubble. Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda.. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir quickly until just combined.
4. Put teaspoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving some space in between them. (You may need to cook the dough in batches). Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, store in an airtight container and eat within 2-3 days. Makes about 30 cookies