Yellow Mustard With A Kick

This recipe, Yellow Mustard With A Kick, elevates many preparations with its spicy-hot blend of prepared yellow mustard, mustard powder, vinegar, and seasonings.

This recipe, Yellow Mustard With A Kick, makes the most of simple ingredients, prepared yellow mustard, mustard powder, and vinegar to create a creamy addition to mayonnaise, or other dressings.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

Yellow Mustard With A Kick doesn’t mess around. It is pungent and assertive, not the type of condiment you’d want to eat by the spoonful straight from the jar (and if you do, you’re superhuman and not a little scary).

That said, this turns mayonnaise into a fantastic bread spread for a steak sandwich — just enough heat to bring out beefy goodness without overpowering it.

Its uses are many — marinades, salad dressings (both creamy and vinaigrette-style), soups, stews, sauces, pan sauces, and gravies — just to name a few. In fact, it would make a great extra addition to a Ranch Salad Dressing recipe. And, let’s not forget macaroni or potato salad.

For more about mustard, here’s a fun article from mentalfloss.com by Roma Panganiban, 13 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Mustard.

For example, the article points out:

Egyptian pharaohs stocked their tombs with mustard seeds to accompany them into the afterlife, but the Romans were the first to grind the spicy seeds into a spreadable paste and mix them with a flavorful liquid—usually, wine or vinegar.

And, interestingly enough:

As members of Brassica or Sinapis genera, mustard plants are close relatives to a surprising variety of common vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, and cabbage.

Makes sense come to think about it, those veggies do have a ‘mustardy’ component to their flavor profiles, especially in their raw state, and I remember my Mom often added mustard seeds to her cabbage dishes.

While this recipe isn’t excessive in its spiciness, if you like your flavors bold and with ‘personality’, I think you’ll take nicely to Yellow Mustard With A Kick!

Please let me know what you think in the Comments section below — I’d love to hear how you use mustard in your culinary creations.

 

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Yellow Mustard With A Kick
Simple ingredients make for a mustard with a real bite — this is a versatile condiment that adds real character to a variety of sauces, dressings, and dishes. © The Working Lunch Project
This recipe, Yellow Mustard With A Kick, makes the most of simple ingredients, prepared yellow mustard, mustard powder, and vinegar to create a creamy addition to mayonnaise, or other dressings.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
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Course Multi-Use
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Passive Time 3 hours
Servings
1 (teaspoon) servings
Ingredients
Course Multi-Use
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Passive Time 3 hours
Servings
1 (teaspoon) servings
Ingredients
This recipe, Yellow Mustard With A Kick, makes the most of simple ingredients, prepared yellow mustard, mustard powder, and vinegar to create a creamy addition to mayonnaise, or other dressings.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
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Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all ingredients.
  2. Cover, refrigerate, and allow flavors to develop several hours.
  3. Check the mustard for consistency — if mixture is too thick, add small drops of water until the desired texture is achieved.
  4. Transfer to a small, screw top jar and store in refrigerator. Keeps several weeks or more, as long as nothing errant makes its way into the jar.
Recipe Notes

Nutritional facts per serving:

10 calories

0.6g fat

29mg sodium

0.5g carbs

0.1g fiber

0.5g protein

 

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Seafood Cocktail Sauce

This recipe for Seafood Cocktail Sauce is a classic. Combining the pantry/refrigerator staples, ketchup, cream-style horseradish sauce, and Worcestershire sauce with freshly squeezed lemon juice and other seasonings, this sauce is the perfect partner for plump, meaty, cooked shrimp and other seafoods.

Seafood Cocktail Sauce is spicy from horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

I love a good cocktail sauce but too often, they are sappy and overly sweet.

Seafood Cocktail Sauce is cocktail sauce as it was first introduced to me as a child.

My family and I were visiting my grandparents in New Orleans. We were moving form California to Ohio and the journey by car, into the unknown, took my four-year-old world by surprise. So much so, that I found myself too nervous to eat (never a normal state for my chowhound self).

That is, until I met my Gramma for the first time. She was a strong-willed, cheerful, calm presence with whom I instantly felt at ease. The more time I spent with her, the more the gitters melted away.

Gramma and my parents took me to Fitzgerald’s (which has long since been closed) for lunch on Lake Pontchartrain. A folksy, local dive, the casual atmosphere relaxed me even further.

However, when the shrimp and cocktail sauce arrived my poor Mom was just sure I’d get queasy again — it arrived legs and tails intact — surely I’d get grossed-out. But no, I didn’t. My Gramma happily showed me how to rip into those little suckers and I was soon a pro at it!

Shrimp and cocktail sauce ‘put me right’ way back then, and it’s still my go-to when I’m feeling even slightly under the weather.

Paired with hot house cucumber sliced into long spears, and a cracker or two, and you’ve got a really satisfying lunch that won’t weigh you down or make you feel groggy.

I hope you like Seafood Cocktail Sauce as much as I do. Please let me know in the Comments section below.

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Seafood Cocktail Sauce
Cool, tangy, spicy, and sweet — this is the perfect accompaniment to seafood. I especially love this Seafood Cocktail Sauce with its classic partner, cooked shrimp. By the way, some cocktail sauce recipes call for part chili sauce, part ketchup but I find the chili sauce an unnecessary, extra expense. © The Working Lunch Project
Seafood Cocktail Sauce is spicy from horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice.
Votes: 1
Rating: 1
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Course Lunch, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
servings (2 tablespoons each)
Ingredients
Course Lunch, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
servings (2 tablespoons each)
Ingredients
Seafood Cocktail Sauce is spicy from horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice.
Votes: 1
Rating: 1
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Instructions
  1. In a small, non-reactive bowl, combine all ingredients.
  2. Cover and allow flavors to meld for at least an hour at room temperature. Use or refrigerate.
  3. This mixture will last several days. If it congeals under refrigeration, whisk in a tiny bit of hot water to loosen it back up.
Recipe Notes

Nutritional facts per serving:

38 calories

0g fat

297mg sodium

8g carbs

0g fiber

0g protein

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Egg Salad Sandwich Filling With Green Onions And Bacon

This Egg Salad Sandwich Filling With Green Onions And Bacon, is a deluxe version of good old egg salad. Chopped capers, celery seed, and poultry seasoning, while simple ingredients,  help to make this special.

Egg Salad Sandwich Filling With Green Onions And Bacon is a classic for sandwiches.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

You can take your bacon and eggs with you with this recipe for Egg Salad Sandwich Filling With Green Onions And Bacon. It makes an excellent sandwich or wrap with sprouts and tomato slices.

The inspiration for this was four lonely pieces of cooked bacon rattling around in my fridge with no place to go and plenty of time to get there.

The thought process flowed simply. BLT? Nope, no lettuce. Bacon and eggs? Nope, don’t want to clean up a frying pan after cooking eggs. But still, bacon and eggs does sound good. Egg salad!

Now, you might say there’d still be a pot to clean up. Well, sort of. More like a glass measuring cup.

Anytime I intend to chop up eggs anyway,  I boil eggs in the microwave.

Here’s how: I get a large glass measure (8 cup measure) grease the inside, add cold water approximately a fourth of the way up from the bottom of the glass measure, carefully, one at a time, break individual eggs  into a small bowl, and then carefully, so as to not break the yolk, ease each egg into the water at the bottom of the glass measure until I have 6 eggs in the glass measure.

These I microwave on high for 6 minutes. I then gently lift one out of the water with a slotted spoon and push with my finger tip on the yolk quickly (its hot) to see if its firm. If it isn’t (times will vary) I put everything back and, in 1 minute increments, cook the eggs a little longer.

Once they’re cooked, I carefully separate them in the water with the slotted spoon, and transfer them to a shallow bowl, lined with paper towels, to let them cool.

When the eggs are at room temperature, I transfer them to a bowl and chop them using two knives cutting through the eggs in the opposite direction from one another.

This results in fluffy chopped eggs, an easier clean-up with the glass measure than I would have had with a frying pan, and the best part of all  —  I don’t have to fuss with peeling shells away from boiled eggs.

Egg Salad Sandwich Filling With Green Onions And Bacon is budget-friendly, high-protein, and even low-carb if you omit bread and choose to use this as a filling for everything from grilled portabella mushrooms to avacados and tomatoes.

Please try this recipe and let me know how you like it in the Comments section below.

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Egg Salad Sandwich Filling With Green Onions And Bacon
Green onions, capers, bacon, and the perfect blend of seasonings combine to create an egg salad sandwich filling that pairs nicely with peppery radish sprouts in a sandwich, but would be equally at home as a snack gracing the top of your favorite cracker or vegetable round. © The Working Lunch Project
Egg Salad Sandwich Filling With Green Onions And Bacon is a classic for sandwiches.
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Rating: 0
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Course Lunch, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour (chilling time)
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Lunch, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour (chilling time)
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Egg Salad Sandwich Filling With Green Onions And Bacon is a classic for sandwiches.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
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Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, cover, and allow to chill in the fridge for 1 hour. Enjoy within a few days.
Recipe Notes

Nutritional facts per serving:

258 calories

21g fat

514mg sodium

2g carbs

0g fiber

13g protein

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Chicken Spread With Herbes De Provence

Chicken Spread with Herbes de Provence is a quick and easy do ahead recipe. A blend that transforms simple ingredients, including Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, and simple seasonings, into a taste of sunny Provence.

Chicken Spread With Herbes de Provence, as the name implies, contains Herbes de Provence, Dijon mustard, and mayonnaise combine to create a simple spread good on crackers and in sandwiches
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

Two leftover chicken breasts, looking completely forlorn tucked in a bowl in my refrigerator, inspired Chicken Spread with Herbes de Provence,

To create this recipe, I took my cue from the south of France, because every late winter, l always seem to find myself turning to all things Provençale. I guess it’s my way of jump-starting spring. I enjoy imagining the warm sun on my back, and I love immersing myself in fantasies of the line, form, color, and texture of Province, including bright floral and foulard prints, pots of multicolor flowers, and  in particular, air perfumed with lavender. In fact, for good luck, I keep lavender lady dolls (santons) from Provence near me, even on my work desk.

By the way, according to beyond.fr:

Santons are clay figurines that depict the colorful people, traditional trades, activities and costumes of Provence. Santons derived from the idea of the Provencal inhabitants on their way to the Nativity with their humble, local offerings… Read more here.

Photo of lavender lady dolls to accompany the recipe for Chicken Spread with Herbes de Provence
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

Lavender is one essential ingredient in a really good blend of Herbes de Province. And, as luck would have it, I had such a blend sitting in a nice, cool, dark place just waiting for an excuse to party!

Chicken Sread with Herbes de Provence requires the floral notes of dried lavender.
Photo: Anja Bier

A little Dijon mustard for a tart, white wine note, a little freshly ground black pepper, a little hot sauce, onion and garlic powders, and creamy, tangy mayonnaise and I had the whole thing pulled together in no time.

After measuring the dried herbs, I like to rub the herbs between my fingers posed over the bowl of the food processor to release their essential oils as they drift down into the chicken mixture. This makes a world of difference in the flavor of the finished spread, but it also gives the herbs a finer consistency that softens better as the mixture chills in the refrigerator.

This chicken spread makes a great sandwich filling and tastes great with a variety of breads. It’s terrific on toasted baguette slices or your favorite cracker. Some, might even fill a croissant with the spread.

Perfect for a quick breakfast on the go, a lunchtime treat, or a delicious snack, Chicken Spread with Herbes de Provence, would also make a nice addition to a high-protein, low-carb repertoire. I can see it spread atop sliced zucchini with maybe a slice of lightly salted cherry tomato or nestled inside endive spears.

Please give this a try and tell me what you think in the Comments section below.

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Chicken Spread With Herbes De Provence
Quick to prepare, this chicken spread includes herbes de Provence and it should be noted that not all herbes de Provence blends are created equal. I always look for blends that include rosemary, anise or fennel seed, and especially lavender. © The Working Lunch Project
Chicken Spread With Herbes de Provence, as the name implies, contains Herbes de Provence, Dijon mustard, and mayonnaise combine to create a simple spread good on crackers and in sandwiches
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Rating: 0
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Course Lunch, Snack
Cuisine French
Prep Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour (chilling time)
Servings
servings 1/4 cup each
Ingredients
Course Lunch, Snack
Cuisine French
Prep Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour (chilling time)
Servings
servings 1/4 cup each
Ingredients
Chicken Spread With Herbes de Provence, as the name implies, contains Herbes de Provence, Dijon mustard, and mayonnaise combine to create a simple spread good on crackers and in sandwiches
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Rating: 0
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Instructions
  1. In the bowl of a food processor, add all the ingredients in the order listed.
  2. Put lid on bowl of food processor and pulse until thoroughly combined and finely textured. Scrap down the sides of the bowl and pulse again briefly to make sure everything is combined.
  3. Transfer mixture to a nonreactive bowl, cover, and refrigerate 1 hour to chill and allow flavors to marry. You should have a yield of approximately 1 1/2 cups. Use within a few days.
Recipe Notes

Nutritional facts per serving:

180 calories

15g fat

182mg sodium

0g carbs

0g fiber

11g protein

 

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Classic Tuna Salad

A classic tuna salad with albacore tuna, green onions, finely minced celery, capers, pimientos, and salad olives in a mayonnaise dressing with herbs and spices.

A classic tuna salad with a mayonnaise dressing.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

It was, what we used to call, “swell elegant.” “It” was my first “grown-up” birthday party. At the very sage, wise, and sophisticated age of six, my birthday party plan went from hotdogs and potato chips, to a lady-like luncheon salad, hard rolls and butter, ice tea, and a meaty, beefsteak tomato stuffed with my Mom’s classic tuna salad.

It also went from a simple homemade layer cake for dessert, to a masterpiece my Mom created, based on my fantasy cake I had described to her for nearly three months in advance.

My dream cake was based on a strapless, white evening dress my always elegant Mom had, with layers of silk and chiffon and a wide midriff of ornately embroidered bright pink, tangerine, and  fuchia colored roses and rose buds with trailing leaves and vines, in two tones of green, both light and dark.

My Mom was a fantastic cook. You can blame my love of cooking directly on my Mom and I think some of the greatest memories I have from childhood involve the time I spent with my Mom in the kitchen.

But more than a great cook, my Mom was a brave cook. No challenge phased her. So she took it in stride when I requested a multi-layered strawberry cake with white buttercream frosting and as literal a translation of those embroidered roses as she could possibly conjure up.

My Mom had never ventured into sugar-craft, but no matter, she taught herself how to make the tiny, detailed, buds, blooms, leaves, and tendrils. The result of all her hours of effort was the most beautiful and delicious cake I had ever eaten or ever will eat again.

I don’t remember the presents I received that year, I don’t even remember the names of the little friends in attendance (for which I should be ashamed), but that gorgeous cake was the greatest gift EVER!

And the classic tuna salad became my most requested party entree, vying only with the New Orleans-style boiled shrimp feast for which my Mom was also famous.

Parsley, green onions, celery, capers, lemon, and hot sauce are ingredients for classic tuna salad.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

You don’t have to wait for a special occasion however, to enjoy Mom’s classic tuna salad — it travels well for lunch — although you will need access to refrigeration or an insulated bag to keep it chilled. And, it shines stuffed into an avacado half or a ripe, earthy tomato. Do be sure to season the tomato or avacado half — my Mom believed that all food elements need their own seasoning and I concure.

Please use the comments section below to share your memories of your first “grown-up” birthday party feast as well as your take on this recipe.

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Classic Tuna Salad
Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients — which are mostly pantry staples, and measuring them into the dressing is a snap. Also, if you're using this for a sandwich filling, unless you are using a sturdy roll designed to soak up dressing, I find it's best to avoid a soggy sandwich by packing bread and filling separately, until lunchtime.© The Working Lunch Project
A classic tuna salad with a mayonnaise dressing.
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Course Lunch
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Lunch
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
servings
Ingredients
A classic tuna salad with a mayonnaise dressing.
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Rating: 0
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Instructions
  1. In a small bowl mix first 12 ingredients (mayonnaise through black pepper) for dressing and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together remaining ingredients.
  3. Add most of dressing to tuna mixture, toss to combine, and add the remaining dressing to your desired consistency.
  4. Refrigerate and chill tuna salad for 1 hour to allow flavors to combine before derving. Use within a few days.
Recipe Notes

Nutritional facts per serving:

252 calories

21g fat

556mg sodium

3g carbs

0.7g fiber

14g protein

 

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Lunch Lady Tuna Salad Sandwich Filling

TAKE A TRIP BACK IN TIME WITH THIS RETRO TUNA SALAD SANDWICH FILLING

A tangy, sweet tuna salad sandwich filling made by combining tuna with mayonnaise, ketchup, dill pickle relish, and minced white onion. This is  just like the cafeteria lunch ladies prepared it back in grammar school.

.A tuna salad sandwich filling like you remember from the school cafeteria.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

I REMEMBER IT WELL

My mom always made the best tuna salad sandwich filling. Her version was a savory combination of salad olives, finely minced celery, chopped green onions, fresh lemon juice, and mayonnaise,

Summer days often meant a big pitcher of bright, sunny-yellow lemonade, a large basket of salty potato chips, and an even larger tray of tuna salad sandwich halves.

THEN, THE MOST UNBELIEVABLE SACRILEGE OCCURRED

Then, the most unbelievable sacrilege occurred — a horrific event burned into the memory of my four-year-old brain forever. My older brother, a seasoned veteran of the grammar school cafeteria at age ten,  did the absolute unthinkable.  He took a portion of my mom’s tuna salad and added ketchup and dill pickle relish. Gasp! Who would mess with perfection in such a crass manner?

I wouldn’t taste it because it would have been a betrayal of enormous magnitude. My mother was polite about it and simply looked away, stoically.  And soon, the whole dark episode was forgotten.

EVENTUALLY I UNDERSTOOD

Later, when I anxiously began school, I foraged for even semi-palatable sustainance in the depths of an overheated, humid lunchroom.  The stifling air carried an admixture of disinfectant, margarine-stained, steamed canned green beans, and ancient upchuck,

It was then that I began to appreciated the sweet, cool, tangy embrace of tuna salad made by the lunch ladies. You see, it was the only fare that kept nausea at bay.

As happens, years later, during a stressful period of time, I suddenly had a craving for that exact tuna salad.

I keep the ingredients simple, based on my brother’s “recipe.”

The ingredients for a nostalgic tuna salad sandwich filling from the school cafeteria.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

This recipe is relatively  easy on the budget, and the ingredients come together quickly, but give the whole thing a short stay in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend. One thing to remember though, you want to choose tuna that you really like — some brands are just mushy and fishy, which will ruin any recipe. I prefer albacore tuna in olive oil, but you may prefer tuna packed in water.

Tuna salad sandwich filling from childhood.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

So, strap on your hair nets ’cause here it is!

Enjoy this recipe for tuna salad sandwich filling, for old time sake!

I’d love to hear your own lunchtime memories — please use the Comments section below to describe how you navigated the school cafeteria (or, avoided it) when you were growing up.

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Lunch Lady Tuna Salad Sandwich Filling
When it comes to soothing, quick to fix, and budget friendly, this old-fashioned, cafeteria-style tuna salad sandwich filling can't be beat! Let the filling chill in the refrigerator about a half hour to allow flavors to marry. Also, to keep sandwich bread from getting soggy, I find it's best to pack bread and filling separately, until lunchtime. © The Working Lunch Project
.A tuna salad sandwich filling like you remember from the school cafeteria.
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Course Lunch
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Passive Time 1/2 hour (chilling time)
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Lunch
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Passive Time 1/2 hour (chilling time)
Servings
servings
Ingredients
.A tuna salad sandwich filling like you remember from the school cafeteria.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
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Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together until well combined.
  2. Cover and chill in refrigerator 1/2 hour to allow flavors to meld. Use within 3 days.
Recipe Notes

Nutritional facts per serving:

209 calories

11g fat

461mg sodium

10g carbs

0.4g fiber

15g protein

 

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Lentil Soup With Burgundy Wine

 

Lentils and vegetables in a savory broth.
Photo: Cynthia Dalton

I’m happy that all the cold, rainy days here in usually sunny southern California is helping to end the brutal drought we’ve suffered from for far too long.

But, this weather has caused me to crave hearty soups. I recently shared my recipe for Spicy Bean Soup and now I’m back at it with this recipe for Lentil Soup With Burgundy Wine.

Aromatic vegetables, bacon, and red wine give this soup a pleasing depth of flavor, while the lentils give this soup protein and a healthy fiber boost.

I hope you enjoy this peasant dish with its earthy air!

Please use the Comments section below to tell me what you think of this recipe!

 

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Lentil Soup With Burgundy Wine
While delicious immediately, this soup tastes even better if it's prepared a day ahead. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients, most of them are pantry items — most of the work is in preparing the vegetables and that goes pretty quickly. Start testing the doneness of the lentils after it simmers for 45 minutes — you want the lentils to have a slight bite left in them — mushy lentils just don't cut it! © The Working Lunch Project
Lentils and vegetables in a savory broth.
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Course Lunch, Soup
Cuisine French
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45-60 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Course Lunch, Soup
Cuisine French
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45-60 minutes
Servings
servings
Ingredients
Lentils and vegetables in a savory broth.
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Instructions
  1. In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the bacon strips until browned and remove to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving the bacon fat in the pan, and leaving the heat on.
  2. To the hot bacon fat add the cabbage, onion, and celery, cooking until vegetables are wilted. Add the garlic and cook a minute more.
  3. Crumble into the pot the reserved, cooked bacon and add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the red wine vinegar and garlic salt.
  4. Bring the soup to a boil, cover partially, and simmer on medium low 45 minutes to 1 hour. Be sure to start tasting the lentils after 45 minutes to test for a firm, but not crunchy, doneness.
  5. When the lentils are cooked, add the red wine vinegar. Taste the soup to see if more salt is needed, and if so, add the garlic salt to taste.
Recipe Notes

Nutritional facts per serving:

282 calories

4g fat

1,059mg sodium

27g carbs

7g fiber

9g protein

 

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