October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, special features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food. Bon appetit!
Azmi Alaeddin, chef and owner of Aladdin -- Tastes of the East, closed his Downtown restaurant at 202 W. Wisconsin Ave. in 2006 after a decade in business. Fortunately, he opened as a vendor selling hot and cold deli items and grocery goods inside the Milwaukee Public Market, 400 N. Water St.
Here, customers have quick access to his famous falafel, his heavenly hummus and, of course, his legendary lentil soup.
Alaeddin held a cooking class at the Milwaukee Public Market during which he revealed his lentil soup recipe and, after demonstrating his process, sent his students away with their own copies of the ingredients.
His is among the best I've ever tasted, and I have to admit that my own copy-cat version has been known to impress the occasional dinner guest. I'm happy to share the secret with you during OnMilwaukee.com's Dining Month.
Lentil soup (Sherbet 'adas):
Ingredients:
2 cup Red Lentils
2 cup Diced carrots
2 cup Diced onion
2 cup Diced tomatoes
6 cup Water
5 tsp. Salt
8 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Black pepper
1 tsp. Turmeric (saffron is also an option)
Directions:
Wash and rinse the red lentils in warm water, two or three times over. Fill a large pot with all the ingredients and bring to a full boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Puree the soup (a blender works best, or use a food mill if available). To serve, squeeze fresh lemon juice (optional) over each bowl and garnish with a parsley sprig.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
