Slow Cooker Lentil Soup with Peanut Butter and Bulgur Wheat

By KEGMD

Ingredients

• 1 onion, small, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups brown lentils
• 5 cups vegetable stock, hot
• 2 cups water, hot
• 4 Tbs bulgur / cracked wheat
• 1 Tbs tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp cumin, powdered
• 1/4 tsp pepper, freshly ground (I used mixed colours)
• 1/8 tsp chilli powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 Tbs peanut butter
• 1 or 2 handfuls baby spinach leaves

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from thefoodiecorner.gr

Preparation

Step 1

Slow Cooker Lentil Soup with Peanut Butter and Bulgur Wheat - The Foodie Corner

A classic Greek lentil soup gets revamped with the addition of peanut butter, for a bit of an African flair, and bulgur wheat, to help make it thicker and heartier. Some spinach at the end sends this dish further up the healthiness scale, and the slow cooker method sends it straight to the top of the easiness scale.

There are a couple of words up above that I’m not sure exist, but I do know you understand what I mean by them. Healthy and easy, when combined with tasty and filling, spell “all-round winner” in my book. This soup is a great winter warmer, loaded with iron and seriously satisfying no matter how hungry you might be. I strongly recommend a side dish that has some sort of vegetable or fruit with vitamin C, as this helps the body absorb the iron. A salad with yellow pepper or citrus fruit maybe? Of course the spinach helps too as this also contains vitamin C.

About the peanut butter, I don’t think there is much to say. I absolutely adore it, so adding it to lentils wasn’t a difficult decision to make. The taste is very discreet, especially in the quantity described below, so next time I will definitely double it. But if you’re not sure you’ll like it, here is a good place to start. The bulgur or cracked wheat adds to the texture making the soup wonderfully thick and creamy, something that lentils will do on their own but only after a fairly long time in the slow cooker. This is a lovely wintery dish, but it would also go down very well during Lent here in Greece, since it’s also vegan. I think I might make it again next week…

4 Tbs bulgur / cracked wheat

1/4 tsp pepper, freshly ground (I used mixed colours)

You can use regular spinach but it would be best to add it half way through cooking so it has a chance to cook through properly. If you aren’t home, you can blanch it before adding it near the end (as mentioned above). You could also use other leafy greens like kale, chard or beetroot leaves. For the beetroot leaves and maybe the chard I suggest you add them at the beginning with the other ingredients.

Put the onion, lentils, stock, water, bulgur wheat, tomato paste and spices into the slow cooker insert. Cook on low for about 9 hours. Turn to high, add the peanut butter and spinach, stir and cook for another 45 minutes till the soup reaches desired consistency.