chip-a-tople = chipotle - otle + a + tople

one day, in the land of west los angeles, there was a young girl who craved chilaquiles. seeing as west los angeles is certainly not the place to discover such delicacies of the latin world,  she consulted with mexican foodie and chef rick bayless, who pointed her in the direction of an beautiful recipe from his book mexico: one plate at a time. she made some delicious black bean chilaquiles for herself and some friends and they had a merry time.

but thats not why i am writing. i am writing because the story's moral is that chipotle en adobo is great and everyone should stockpile it in their pantries.  how did i get that moral out of that story? its not important - what is important is the delightfully hot and smoky flavor of chipotle, and its accessibility in the canned form. 

so what did this girl do upon discovering the delights of chipotle? PUT IT IN ERRRRYTHING.

this soup is inspired by my friend who used to frequent the heights bar and grill on broadway near columbia university during his undergrad - where he always ordered the lentil soup and doused it with chipotle sauce.  i stepped up the concept a notch and made it sooooo much better.

kicking your tongue from beirut to mexico city

chipotle lentil soup - serves 4

ingredients

1/2 pound lentils

1 large chopped red onion (small dice)

2 chopped leeks (white part only)

5 cloves of garlic, minced or garlic pressed

1/2 tbsp oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

4 stalks diced celery

2 diced red or orange bell pepper

half a carton of diced mushrooms 

5 cups water

2 tbsp tomato paste

4 chipotle chilies en adobo, coarsely diced

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1.  in  large bowl, cover the lentils with bowling water and soak for 15 minutes, then drain and set aside.

2.  in a large stockpot over medium heat, add oil, and the onions, garlic, and leeks.  sautee until translucent, then add the bell pepper, mushrooms, cumin, and oregano and keep sauteeing until the vegetables are very tender.  add the celery, chipotle and tomato paste and combine until the tomato paste has throughly melted through.  season the mixture with salt, sugar and pepper.

3. add the lentils and the water and cover and bring to a boil.  reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about an hour until the lentils are tender.  check the seasonings.  add the red wine vinegar and combine.

this is great with pita bread or warm flour tortillas.  be careful, it will be spicy - but in a good way, i promise!