Light Bite

Vegetable and Lentil Soup

You will need:

1 cup of chick peas

1 cup of lentils

1 cup of green peas

½ cup of barley (pre-soaked)

10 cups of water

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 heads of leeks finely chopped

½ teaspoon of coriander

A pinch of aniseed

A pinch of fennel

½ beets, diced

4 grape (or mallow) leaves, chopped

½ cup of cabbage leave, chopped

½ teaspoon of oregano

Another pinch of fennel

A pinch of celery seed (or lovage)

½ teaspoon of honey

¼ cup of cabbage leaves, chopped

Soak barley for 24 hours in water, then rinse. Into a pot, put chick-peas, lentils, and peas. Add drained barley to the legumes, together with water and olive oil. To this, add heads of leeks, coriander, aniseed, fennel, beets, grape (or mallow) leaves, and cabbage leaves. Cook gently over a low heat for at least 3 hours. One half hour before the soup is cooked, grind together oregano, fennel and celery seed (or lovage), and add to the soup. Stir. Simmer ½ hour and serve with a garnish of chopped raw cabbage leaves.



Courtesy of Apicius. Book IV – All kinds of dishes.

As translated by John Edwards 1984