Lentil Soup with Spinach

By GadgetGirl

This simple lentil soup makes a healthy and satisfying dinner on busy workday evenings. And since lentils, unlike dried beans, don’t need to be soaked overnight, you can prepare this warming dish even if you haven’t planned in advance. For a vegetarian version, simply replace the water and chicken stock concentrate with an equal quantity of vegetable stock.
Ingredients:

Ingredients

• 2 cups (14 oz./440 g) brown lentils
• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1 can (28 oz./875 g) diced tomatoes with juices
• 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) Williams-Sonoma Chicken Stock Concentrate
• 6 cups (48 fl. oz./1.5 l) water
• 6 oz. (185 g) spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped
• 2 tsp. sherry vinegar, or more taste

Preparation

Step 1

Pick over the lentils and discard any stones. Rinse the lentils in a colander under cold running water and drain. Set aside.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, the lentils, stock concentrate and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently until the lentils are very tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir the spinach into the soup. Cook, uncovered, just until the spinach wilts, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the sherry vinegar. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve immediately.