26 March 2010

Lentil Soup with Spinach


Little League started this week and I have been one busy mommy!  Thank goodness I have some healthy crock pot recipes up my sleeve.  It is such a relief to get dinner going in the morning, and be reassured that my family will have something healthy and nourishing to eat after a day of rush, rush, rush.

Lentil Soup with Spinach by Joie de vivre
Serves: at least 6

Ingredients:

1 c. brown lentils
1 Tbls. olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. lime zest
2 yellow potatoes (I used Yukon gold), peeled and chopped
8 cups chicken stock
5 oz. spinach per person (I'm a spinach eater)

Directions:

1.  Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil.
2.  Saute the onions, carrots and celery until the onions are translucent.  Add the minced garlic, cumin seeds and the lime zest and continue to cook for 30 seconds.  Remove from the heat and add to your crock pot.
3.  Rinse the lentils in a colander under cold water and add to the crock pot.
4.  Add the potatoes and the chicken stock to your crock pot, cover and cook on LOW 8-10 hours.
5.  When ready to serve, heat a large pot with a lid over medium heat.  Add 1 Tbls. olive oil, add spinach, stir around with tongs to cover with oil and put the lid on the pot.  Let the spinach cook for exactly 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.
6.  To serve, place a large serving (about 3/4 c.) sauteed spinach at the bottom of each bowl and ladle the soup over it.  Enjoy!

32 comments:

Catherine said...

Mmmm, I love lentil soup! This looks so delicious!
Happy Friday dear!
Hugs & blessings~

Chef E said...

You talk me into it girl, I am pulling out the lentils right now!

I saw them on a salad the other day on a blog, have you tried that?

TREAT AND TRICK said...

This is really healthy and delicious lentil soup, would love to dip with bread....

Jenn said...

Delicious soup!!! I need to start using my slow-cooker more often. It's definitely a useful tool to have around the kitchen.

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

got to admit, never had lentl soup... looks and sounds amazing

Bob said...

Looks good from here. I wish I had the room to have a crock pot.

Angie's Recipes said...

I like to cook the lentil soup for the winter. Yours looks very much healthier!

Hayley said...

Hi
First time here..you have a nice space here!!great lentil soup..

cheers

Christo Gonzales said...

lentils are our friends around here - dal in indian cooking - we eat tons and I would eat a ton of this soup.

Chris said...

Little league....I don't miss those days. Regular season was fine but when allstar season rolled around with the endless tournaments every weekend, even Brett (now 21) got tired of it. You need something like this great soup to restore your energy!

Preety said...

soup is always a very healthy option and made with lentils makes it more healthy..really nice click too

Julie said...

Looks like such a warm and comforting soup. I like how you put the fresh spinach at the bottom to serve it, yum!

Tina said...

I have a couple crock pot meals that you may like. One has whiskey in it though so you may want to leave it out for the kiddies. My kudos to you for eating Marmite by the way….I was inspired to try it, and knock one off my British Omnivoure list, and OMG….I couldn’t handle the taste!

Cathy said...

This looks so tasty and hearty. Although signs of spring are everywhere it is still soup weather here. I imagine that the lime zest perks up all the flavors of the soup. Yum.

tasteofbeirut said...

Lentil soup is our all-time favorite around here, a national lebanese soup as a matter of fact and I am so glad to see that you like it too!

Anonymous said...

We always try to eat a healthy meal on a Sunday night to get ready for the week. We often do lentil dishes. This looks great. I'll be trying it for sure.

Laura in Paris said...

I made soup today and added a handful of green lentils. I love them!

Debbie said...

I love lentils. I need to make more soups.

Sutapa said...

I love lentil and this soup look so fresh,healthy and perfect!

Kat said...

I love lentil soup and I love spinach, such a good idea :)

Kat said...

I love lentil soup and I love spinachs, this sounds like such a good soup.

Unknown said...

I would love for you to link up with Crock Pot Wednesday. Your lentil soup sounds delicious. There's a giveaway going on in April, so come check it out. Good luck with all of the ballgames.

Alicia Foodycat said...

The cumin addition is such a great idea! Yum!

Lori Lynn said...

I like how all the vegetables in your soup keep their integrity. Looks very tasty!
LL

Tangled Noodle said...

This is perfect! I've been cooking more lentils plus I've vowed to use my crockpot more often, even if the weather is warming up. Delicious is delicious, no matter the season and this lentil soup looks absolutely delicious!

Veggie Belly said...

this is such a simple, easy, healthy soup..i love it
!

Dee said...

This is quite possibly one of my favorite soups. Yum! (tummy rumbling & grumbling) Must make this soon.

Sweet Cheeks said...

What an absolutley gorgous picture. It is 90 here right now with a high of 96 for the day. somehow I am thinking soup...not so much...

Nour El-Zibdeh said...

I love lentils. Love soup. And love the addition of spinach!

Don't have a crock pot though. Maybe I should buy one...

Coffee Machine said...

I always wanted to shift to healthy eating and this is worth a try. thanks for sharing..

Magic of Spice said...

This looks and sounds fantastic!

Vishal-Coffee Machine said...

Its really looking healthy and delicious soup:)

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