Recipe - Mediterranean Kitchen Lentil Soup

5 cup Lentils
3 qt Water
1 One half lg Onions, coarsely chopped
One half cup Vegetable oil, divided
One half cup Olive oil
1 Green bell pepper, seeded,
membranes removed, coarsely
chopped
1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
One fourth teaspoon Coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Ground allspice
1 teaspoon Cumin
Three fourths teaspoon Ground cinnamon
6 Cloves garlic, peeled and
coarsely chopped
1 cup Chopped fresh cilantro
One half cup Lemon juice

1. Bring lentils and water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered,
while preparing the vegetables.

2. Meanwhile, in small frying pan cook onions in One fourth cup vegetable oil
and the olive oil over medium heat.

3. When onions start to brown, about 10 minutes, add green pepper and
cook together for about 2 minutes.

4. Add onionpepper combination and oil in which they were cooked to
lentils. cook lentils about 40 minutes. Season with salt; pepper,
allspice, cumin and cinnamon. continue to cook, covered, stirring
frequently, about 20 minutes.

5. Blend garlic with One fourth cup vegetable oil in a blender or with mortar
and pestle until pureed and well blended.

6. When lentils are tender, add cilantro. Turn off heat. Then add
garlicoil puree. Stir well.

7. After a minute, add lemon juice. Taste and correct seasonings if
necessary. Serve immediately.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini