Potaje de Lentejas (Cuban Lentil Soup)

Method8 steps · about 1 hr 15 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Heat the olive oil (1 tablespoon) in a large pot over medium heat, add the onions (1 Medium) and carrots (1). Cook approximately 5 minutes until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently.

   Soften onion and carrot · 5 minUses 1 tablespoon Olive Oil · 1 Medium Onion (finely diced) · 1 Carrot (diced)

2. 2

   Step 2: Add the garlic (3–4), tomato paste (1 tablespoon), salt (1 teaspoon), oregano, cumin (½ teaspoon), and black pepper (¼ teaspoon). Cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.

   Cook garlic tomato paste and spices · 1 minUses Sauteed onion-carrot base · 3–4 garlic cloves, minced · 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste · 1 teaspoon Salt (plus extra if needed at the end) · ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano · ½ teaspoon Ground Cumin · ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper

3. 3

   Step 3: Add the ham shanks, chicken broth (4 cups), water (4 cups), and bay leaf (1) to the pot, stir well. Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Then, lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

   Simmer Ham · 10 minUses Prepared garlic-tomato-spice vegetable base · 1 lb smoked ham shanks or ham hocks, rinsed · 4 cups Chicken Broth · 4 cups Water · 1 Bay Leaf

4. 4

   Step 4: Sort the measured lentils and remove any stones or debris, then rinse and drain using separate cold water. Add these drained lentils to the prepared ham broth, cover and simmer about twenty minutes until starting to soften, stirring occasionally.

   Cook Lentils · 20 minUses Prepared smoked-ham broth after ten-minute simmer · 12 oz dried brown or green lentils, sorted and rinsed · Cold water as needed to rinse sorted lentils; drain

5. 5

   Step 5: Lift the cooked ham from the pot to cool enough to handle. Peel and cut potato (1 Large) and pumpkin (1 pound) into one-to-two-inch (2.5–5 cm) pieces and add to the lentil soup. Return to a simmer, lower the heat, cover and cook fifteen to twenty minutes until lentils, potato and pumpkin are tender; prepare the removed ham during this phase.

   Cook Vegetables · 20 minUses Simmered lentil and smoked-ham soup · 1 Large Potato (peeled and cut into 1-2 inch pieces) · 1 pound Pumpkin (peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-2 inch pieces)

6. 6

   Step 6: While the vegetables simmer, remove meat from the reserved cooked ham when cool enough to handle. Discard bones and excess fat, chop the cooked meat and return it to the soup.

   Uses Reserved cooked ham shanks or hocks · Lentil-potato-pumpkin soup simmering

7. 7

   Step 7: Continue the same gentle vegetable simmer, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat, until lentils and all vegetables are tender.

   Uses Lentil-vegetable soup with returned cooked ham

8. 8

   Step 8: Remove and discard the bay leaf. Taste the finished soup and add the separate optional extra salt only as needed; the initial teaspoon has already been used. Serve hot.

   Uses Finished tender lentil-vegetable-ham soup · Additional salt to taste after cooking, optional; quantity unspecified