I was pleasantly surprised to come home from work Sunday afternoon and smell the aroma of a lentil soup gently simmering on the stove. The day before was the first accumulating snow here in SE PA, and there's nothing like having your partner make a warm comforting soup for you when you come home from work on a cold snowy day on the weekend. He worked with staple pantry ingredients and seasonal vegetables.  I enjoyed it so much that I requested his recipe so I could share it with all of you.

Lentil and Brussel Sprout Soup
Serves 4-6
Matt Kennedy

10 C Water
1 T Olive Oil
1 C Green Lentils, Dry
1 C French Lentils, Dry
Half Medium Onion, Chopped
1 Shallot, Chopped
6 Cloves Garlic, Minced
3/4 C Red Quinoa
2 T Ground Black Pepper
1 Tsp Tumeric
10 Brussels Sprouts, Sliced
3 T Red Miso Paste
Sea salt (to taste)

In a large pot, toast the quinoa, garlic, and onions in the olive oil. Toast the quinoa so that it releases an aroma- not until it turns brown. Add 8 C water to the pot. Bring to a boil, stir in the other ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer for 50 minutes.

Quinoa and Three Bean Croquettes with a Red Miso Sauce
Makes 12 croquettes 2" in diameter
1/2 cup of Miso sauce

Croquettes:
1/2 cup red quinoa, rinsed
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 clove garlic, minced
3 scallions, chopped
2 long hot green peppers, chopped (I used the holy mole variety of peppers from my garden)
1/4 cup Adzuki beans
1/4 cup Anazazi beans
1/2 cup Cranberry beans
1/2 piece of kombu
1/2 bay leaf, torn
salt
pepper
handful of small cherry tomatoes, for garnish
 

Miso Sauce:
2 1/2 T Miso paste
1/2 cup of water
1/2 T Mirin
1/2 T rice vinegar
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika (or more to taste)
1/4 tsp dash of cayenne (or more to taste)

Soak beans overnight in water. Drain and rinse. In a medium stockpot bring beans to a boil with kombu and bay leaf until tender. Depending on the amount of time you have, you may use canned beans. Ratio is not important, I used a variety of dried beans I had available as I prefer the texture of rehydrated beans to canned beans. If I use canned beans, I buy organic, most often Eden Organic. (Although more expensive, Eden Organic does not coat the inside of their cans with BPA). 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Over medium heat, bring water and quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until water has been absorbed. Remove from heat. Fluff with a fork and add chopped onions, 1 pepper, and minced garlic. Add freshly ground pepper to taste. 

When beans are fork tender and can be mashed with a fork, remove the kombu and bay leaf. Transfer the beans 1/4 cup at a time to the quinoa, mashing with a fork to combine. When you can form the quinoa into round balls or patties you have added enough of the bean mixture. You do not need to use all of the beans, I had about 1/3-1/2 cup remaining that I'll use for another recipe.  Ideally you want a nice balance of quinoa and beans. Use your hands to roll round balls, and place on a prepared baking sheet.

Bake croquettes for about 12-15 minutes.

While croquettes are baking, prepare miso sauce on the side. Over low heat, gently dissolve the miso paste in water. Add Mirin, rice vinegar, and spices. This dipping sauce may be served warm or cold.

To serve, pour 2 spoonfuls of Miso sauce on a plate and place 2 croquettes on sauce. Top with additional chopped tomato, pepper and shallots. Serve with additional sauce on the side. If you have additional sauce, use it as a base for Miso soup.