Oriental-style lentil soup with leg of lamb and butternut squash

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• 1 bunch of soup vegetables
• 1 onion(s)
• 3 beef leg slices or lamb leg slices
• 4 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3 carrots
• ¼ butternut squash
• 400 g mountain lentils
• 500 g potatoes, waxy
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 4 sprigs of peppermint
• 6 stalks of coriander

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 3 hours 30 minutes

Peel and quarter the onion. Sear it on all sides with the leg pieces in a pan in hot oil. Let it cool slightly. Pour in 2 liters of water and add the cleaned vegetables and cinnamon. Simmer for 2 hours over medium heat. Peel the carrots, pumpkin, and potatoes and cut them into medium-sized cubes. Remove the leg pieces from the stock to cool. Strain the stock and discard the vegetables. Then add the lentils, potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, and chili to the stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the meat and marrow from the bones. Cut the meat into small cubes. Discard the tendons and cartilage. Finely chop the fresh mint and coriander. 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the meat and cumin. Season with salt and spice to taste. Sprinkle with mint and coriander to serve. Note: I was looking for a recipe that would allow me to use up what I had in my pantry. In my case, the leg of veal was a “keeper in the freezer,” and the organic mountain lentils were also well past their expiration date. It’s all the more wonderful when such a great dish comes out of it.