Tuesday Night Dinner Across the Miles / Lentil soup with parmesan toast

1 1/2 oz butter

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup sliced leek (white part only)

1/2 cup chopped celery

4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1 small red chili (finely chopped)

13 oz tin of chopped italian tomatoes

32 oz vegetable stock or water

2 bay leaves

2 Tbs chopped fresh oregano

1/2 cup lentils du Puy

1 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

Melt butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots, onion and leeks and cook for 10 min., stirring occasionally. Add celery, garlic and chilli and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, stock (or water), bay leaves, oregano and lentils and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 min. Season with salt and pepper, and stir through parsley. 

Parmesan Toast

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/2 baguette 

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

Preheat oven to 400F. 

Place oil and garlic in blender and process until smooth.

Slice baguette into slices. Lay the slices in one layer on baking tray. Using a pastry brush, bursh each piece of baguetter with the garlic oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake the toast 5 - 10 min or until brown and crisp. Makes 20 pieces. 

Note: Toast will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

This was Jolie's pick tonight and it was wonderful!! My family loved it too :)  I ran out of Parmesan cheese so my toast was make without the cheese but it was still so yummy with the garlic spread. 

Here is a link to Jolies' awesome dish, click here
Jolie and I make the same dinner every Tuesday night together from different states. Jolie found this recipe in the Bill Granger cookbook Sydney Food.  A friend of her's told her about Bill Granger and she picked up the cookbook.