Red lentil soup with sauteed scallops

These wintry harsh days just beg for warm sweaters, woolen blankets, and of course comfort food. The nippy days and nights of wintertime makes us crave something warm and comforting to eat. Simple home-cooked food, is all what I need these days!

On a cold day, nothing sounds more appealing to me than hot steaming bowl of soup. It’s what I want to eat when I feel cold. It’s what refuels me and warms my soul!

I have fond memories of enjoying a bowl of red lentil soup as a child. I just close my eyes and savor each bite because it reminds me of my family and my childhood. It reminds me of walking home in the cold from school to find a bowl of red lentil soup waiting for me.

Red lentil soup is a major staple recipe at our house, it’s a nurturing soul food we always crave. This time I wanted to add a twist, and serve it with sautéed scallops.

The earthy texture from the legume and the supple consistency of the shellfish give a graceful combination. The tender scallops, not over done and perfectly seared, will definitely vow your taste buds. 



Ingredients (serves 4):
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
320g (3/4 lb) rinsed red lentils
1 bay leaf
1.2 liter (5 cups) vegetable/chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
12 fresh scallops, cleaned, with the corals attached
chopped coriander for garnish
 
Saute the onion in a large pot with some olive oil for 2 mn, add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the lentils then pour the stock and the bay leaf. Season with salt, pepper, and coriander powder. Bring to a boil then simmer on low heat for around 20 mn, until the lentils are tender.

Meanwhile, cook the scallops. To do this, heat a large frying pan over a high heat without adding any fat. Dry the scallops and corals with kitchen paper. When the pan is searing hot, lightly brush them on both sides with the olive oil and season with salt and freshly milled black pepper.

Now add them to the pan and let them cook without moving for about 2 minutes, until the underside is dark brown and caramelised, then use a small palette knife to flip them over. Continue to cook for 1 mn on the other side, but no more. What you are aiming for is a golden, caramelised outside, with a soft and barely cooked inside. It’s important to have your frying pan really hot to get the dish right.

Once the lentils cooked, discard the bay leaf and puree the lentils. Spoon them in bowls, then arrange the scallops over the lentils. Garnish with chopped coriander. 


Velouté de lentilles corail et saint-jacques

Ingrédients (4 personnes):
1 oignon haché
2 gousses d'ail, écrasées
320g de lentilles corail
1 feuille de laurier
1.2 litre de bouillon de volaille
1/2 càc de coriandre moulue
sel et poivre, selon goût
2 càs d'huile d'olive
12 noix de saint-jacques
coriandre ciselée
 
Faites revenir les oignons dans une sauteuse avec un peu d'huile d'olive pendant 2 mn. Ajoutez l'ail et faites revenir 1 mn. Ajoutez les lentilles, le bouillon et la feuille de laurier. Assaisonnez de sel, de poivre et de coriandre moulue. Laissez frémir environ 20 mn jusqu'à ce que les lentilles soient tendres. 

Pendant ce temps, faites chauffer ine poêle à feu vif, sans ajoutez de matière grasse. Séchez les noix de saint-jacques et badigeonnez-les des 2 côtés avec de l'huile d'olive. et assaisonnez-les de sel et de poivre.

A l'aide d'un pinceau badigeonnez les noix de Saint Jacques d'huile d'olive de chaque côté.
Assaisonnez chacune d'elles de sel et de poivre puis poêlez-les 2 minutea de chaque côté dans la poêle assez chaude. 

Une fois les lentilles cuites, retirez la feuille de laurier et mixez les lentilles. Versez le velouté dans des bols et posez les noix de saint-jacques. Servez aussitôt parsemé de coriandre hachée.

Comments

  1. What a festive soup! So delicious looking and sounding. A wonderful combination.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Très bon ce velouté avec les lentilles corail, ça change!
    Avec les St-Jacques, c'est très joli!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chicho this is such a beautiful soup. It looks amazing and delicious, perfectly comforting for a cold winter day like this one. I'm so happy for you that it brings back such wonderful memories of being a child.

    ReplyDelete
  4. mmmmm-it's so cold here like -10 C. This would definitely help to warm me up! My lentil soup never comes out right, I'm going to try your recipe. Love the addition of the scallops-you have seared them perfectly!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a fabulous combination! Welcoming and beautiful as well. Lovely recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Excellente combinaison entre les coquilles et le velouté; j'aime aussi le coriandre avec.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lentils and scallops! What an unusual combination. It looks so velvety and delicious though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such a delicious and warming soup! I love the addition of scallops in the soup, very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wonderful soup for this rainy night!!! i love how neat your photos are..!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Cherine, this soup looks delicious, never thought in topping it up with scallops...beautifully done :-) Great great pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Chicho, I love red lentil soup. I've had it so many times this year. I like your creamy version. It looks delicate!

    Nisrine

    ReplyDelete
  12. A very stylish and conforting soup! Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  13. looks so good. you had me at scallop! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes, nothing beats a warm bowl of soup on a wintry day. I love the addition of the scallops. They make the soup look even more welcoming.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The soup looks and sounds great! yummy

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anything this beautiful simply has to be delicious. This looks wonderful. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

    ReplyDelete
  17. That looks beautiful, Finally we are getting a bit of the winter weather here at La, la, la, land, I love it. Because there is so many yummy comforting soup out there for me to try. And yours looks just wonderful. Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Bonjour! This is a lovely soup, I would have never thought of pairing scallops and lentils together to make a soup.

    Hope youre well and Ive just started following! Keep up the good work!

    Aoif x

    ReplyDelete
  19. omg what a heavenly treat! I almost want to reach out and get the soup out of the screen.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Looks so decadent! Really beautiful photos too. Wonderful creation!

    ReplyDelete
  21. This soup looks absolutely gorgeous! The photos are just stunning!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Cherine, this just looks unbelievably good. I've made a good red lentil soup before, but the addition of those golden scallops was inspired. This recipe sounds truly delectable. Beautiful photos too!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Cherine~ Seared scallops are such a great way to elevate a simple soup. This looks outrageously delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wow, I've never heard of red lentil soup, this looks so warm and comforting.

    ReplyDelete
  25. What a great-looking bowl of soup. The lentils with coriander sound delicious, and those scallops look fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  26. A gorgeous soup ... rustic elegance at its best! Red lentils are wonderful, but I have had such a long time to make them.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Your gorgeous photos compel me to try this recipe. The combination of lentils and scallops looks so very good.

    ReplyDelete
  28. This looks so deliciously creamy... A perfect treat for winter...:)!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love the scallops! They complete the meal :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. What a gorgeous and flavorful soup - your scallops on top look perfectly seared too!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Looks AMAZING! Just found your blog. Love it. I'll be back soon! Cheers.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts