Lebanese lentil soup with Swiss chard and lemon

Wash the green lentils thoroughly under the tap to remove surface starch, drain and set aside.

Dice the onions medium small so they disappear into the soup.

Peel the carrot and cut into small even pieces, quarters at the thick end and semicircles at the thin end.

Peel the potato, cut into 1.5 cm fries, then into cubes.

Wash the Swiss chard; separate the stalks from the leaves, slicing small stalks off a stack of leaves and cutting either side of thick stalks.

Trim the stalk ends and chop into 1-2 cm pieces; split thick stalks into pencil-sized sticks first.

Heat the olive oil in a deep pot over medium heat and saute the onion about 5-6 minutes until softened.

Add the potatoes and fry with the onion 2 minutes so they keep their shape.

Add the garlic and stir 20-30 seconds.

Add the carrots, the chard stalks, the lentils and 2 litres of liquid (1 litre stock, 1 litre water).

Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.

Skim the scum from the surface, then lower to a simmer, cover and cook about 30 minutes until the lentils are done.

Cut the chard leaves into 3 cm strips, stack and cut across into small ribbons.

Juice about 2 lemons.

Check the potatoes and lentils are cooked; add the salt, cumin, black pepper and 80 ml lemon juice and stir.

Taste and adjust; add the remaining 20 ml lemon juice if needed.

Add the chard leaves right before serving and cook 1-2 minutes until wilted; longer makes them bitter and dark. Serve right away.