Red Lentil Soup with Diver Scallops - serves 4 with leftovers

On my quest to serve less meat during the week, I came across some organic red lentils and decided to concoct a soup.  Now, I didn't want my husband to venture off to the refrigerator, where he'd only find umibushi plums, apples, olives, hummus and maybe a few squares of Italian chocolate, to do any late-night snacking. Therefore, I decided to add a whopping jumbo sized scallop on top.  Surely, that would fill him up. And speaking of venturing, when he can't get anything out of the refrigerator, he resorts to his garage closet, which is filled with snacks dating back to the end of time, i.e, Lil' Debbie's, Ding Dongs, Twinkie's and those oatmeal cream cookies.  All that was left to find were those candied cigarettes we used to get that when you puffed on them, powdered sugar would come billowing out. After all that, who wouldn't need a fake cigarette, right?

Anyway, hence the vegetarian soup.  You can omit the scallop if you choose, but I have to tell you, it's pretty amazing.  Just season both sides with salt and pepper, place in a hot skillet with a little olive oil, pan sear on each side for about 3-4 minutes and you're done.  You can do it as fast as you can say Twinkie.

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large celery rib, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large carrot, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 baking potato (6 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
1 rounded cup red lentils (8 ounces)
1 1/2 quarts vegetable stock or broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderately high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the celery and carrot and cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes. Add the potato, lentils and stock; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, 40 minutes.

Puree the soup in batches and return it to the saucepan. Add the cumin, cayenne and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.