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Pilar's Chilean Food & Garden

Pilar's Chilean Food & Garden

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Lentejas con Arroz Chilean Lentil Soup

May 12, 2022 by Pilar Hernandez
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Versión en español

Chilean Lentil Soup

Chilean lentil soup with rice and chorizo is a traditional Chilean winter dish. Like many old dishes, each family has its version, so feel free to adapt this recipe as you like best. In my family, it has always been with potatoes and rice, lentils, and chorizo sometimes, they also added chard or spinach, and I know of families where they add tomato.

The sofrito is essential. Hopefully, you do the sofrito with Chilean Color (lard and sweet paprika), and there you brown the onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, and garlic.

Two popular Chilean lentil soup options are Parmesan cheese and mashed hard-boiled eggs. And if you have leftovers, you can easily transform them into a cream of lentils using the blender. Serve with croutons.

Tips for delicious lentils:

What do I do if I only have old lentils from previous years?

Lentils from previous years’ crops take longer to cook, and it is best to cook them before adding them to the final dish. To cook the lentils the night before, leave them in a bowl covered with cold water. The next day, remove any pebbles that are floating. Strain the lentils and cook them in a pot with cold water, salt, and a bay leaf. Once it boils, lower the heat and try after 20 minutes. Cook until cooked.

Can I speed up the cooking of the lentils?

Do not try to speed up the cooking by raising the heat. That makes the lentils cook unevenly, lose texture, look like porridge, and explode. Not good.

Can I freeze lentils?

Yes, you can freeze plain cooked lentils for up to three months. Lentils with rice can also be frozen if you take the potatoes out. Potatoes cannot be frozen.

How do I store cooked lentils or soup?

Always refrigerated. In summer, lentils turn sour very quickly.

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Lentejas con Arroz Chilean Lentil Soup

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A traditional Chilean soup.

  • Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 tablespoon Chilean color or vegetable oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 celery sticks finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped into small cubes
  • 1/2 bell pepper, any color, chopped into small cubes
  • 2 sausages cut into 1 cm slices.
  • 1/2 cup raw rice, ideally short grain
  • 1 large or 2 medium potato, peeled, cubed
  • 1 cup raw green or brown lentils
  • 1/2 bundle of chard about 8 leaves cut stems and leaves or a bundle of spinach without stems, optional
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Soak the lentils in plenty of cold water the night before, discard stones or damaged lentils. Strain.
  2. Heat the oil, in a medium pot, over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. 
  3. Add the carrot, celery, bell pepper, and garlic, brown for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
    Lentil sofrito
  4. Add the sausages and rice and stir for 1 minute.
    chorizo cut rice and chorizo in sofrito
  5. Add the lentils and potatoes, stir well. Add 2-3 cups of cold water, season with salt and pepper.
    Added potatoes and lentils
  6. Cook over low heat, simmering for 20 minutes. Test that the lentils and rice are cooked.
    added broth
  7. Add the chopped chard or spinach and cook for 5 more minutes.
  8. Add more water as many times as necessary. You want it always to be covered by a thin layer of water on top, like 1 cm.
    Chilean Lentils
  9. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
  10. Serve hot.
    Chilean Lentils
  • Author: Pilar Hernandez
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Category: Soups
  • Cuisine: Chilean

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 483
  • Sugar: 5.7 g
  • Sodium: 766.2 mg
  • Fat: 15.9 g
  • Saturated Fat: 5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 62.4 g
  • Fiber: 15.3 g
  • Protein: 24.3 g

Keywords: Chilean lentil soup, lentil soup

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Chilean Lentil Soup

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Category: Chilean recipes, Chilean Soups & Starters

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Hello, I’m Pilar

Hello! I'm Pilar Hernandez, a Latina mom, The Chilean Kitchen cookbook author, and urban farmer. I'm currently based in Seattle, WA. I was born and raised in Chile. I went to medical school there …

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