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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Spinach Lentil Soup



Note from Sara:  This week's generous post comes from my ex-coworker, Susan.  (She moved not long after I started at this company, but I'm not bitter, no.  Nooooo, lol.)  Anyway, she sent me this recipe for a healthy soup, and I really want to try it out myself!  It's hovering right around 15 degrees here, and a hot bowl of filling soup sounds like heaven in a bowl.  Anyone want to make the recipe and deliver it to my house?  I tip well! :)


Spinach Lentil Soup
I am a soup-aholic -- cannot get enough. That said, I am exploring my vegetarian Times cookbook. This was the latest success from the cookbook. It's hearty, tasty and just plain yummy.  ENJOY!  -- Susan



Ingredients
1 cup dry lentils
3 T virgin olive oil
3 cups diced onions
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain white or brown rice (I used brown)
6 1/2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup cooked chickpeas (or one 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed) - I used canned

Garnish
3-4 cups spinach leaves, stems removed
2 T yogurt
4-6 lemon wedges (I used lemon juice)
freshly ground black pepper
1 T chopped fresh parsley or fresh cilantro leaves


To make the soup:
  1. Cover the lentils with hot water and let sit.
  2. Warm the oil in a soup pot over medium-low heat and cook the onions and spices, stirring, for 8 minutes.
  3. Remove 1/3 of the onion mixture and reserve it for garnish.
  4. Add the rice to the onions in the soup pot and cook 1 minute to coat the grains.
  5. Drain the lentils and add to the onion-rice mixture along with the water, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
  6. Simmer, covered until the rice and lentils are tender, about 30-45 minutes.
  7. Add the chickpeas and heat until warmed through.
  8. Discard the bay leaves.

Garnish:

  1. Chop the spinach and stir into lentils.
  2. Ladle the stew into bowls and top with a spoonful of yogurt.
  3. Add the reserved onions, lemons (I squeezed lemon juice instead), parsley or cilantro.



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2 comments:

  1. This looks soooo yummy. I've been on a lentil kick lately and this will serve nicely to feed my obsession ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've never actually cooked with lentils before, so I'm excited that Susan sent me this recipe!

    ReplyDelete

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