Greek Lentil Soup

By Bailey1_

Ingredients

• 2 cups brown lentils (washed and picked over if needed)
• 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock (or more)
• 1 medium onion, diced small
• 1 cup chopped celery, chopped into fairly small pieces
• 1 T Greek Seasoning (I use The Spice House Greektown Billygoat Seasoning, but there are a few good brands.)
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 tsp. dried oregano (preferably Greek or Turkish oregano)
• 1 T minced garlic
• fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 bunch spinach leaves, stems cut off, chopped and washed
• 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (or a little less if you're not that into lemon)
• crumbled Feta Cheese for serving (optional, but good)

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from kalynskitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

Chop onions and celery and measure 2 cups brown lentils. (Do this the night before and store in the fridge in a Ziploc bag if you want to get this into the slow cooker quickly in the morning.)

Put the lentils, onions, celery, vegetable or chicken stock, Greek Seasoning, dried thyme, dried oregano, minced garlic, black pepper, and canned tomatoes with juice into the slow cooker. Cook on high for about 4 hours or on low for 8-9 hours, or until the lentils are as softened as you'd like them. (Cooking time will partly depend on how fresh your lentils are; lentils that have been on the pantry or store shelf for a while will take a little longer to cook.)

When the lentils are softened as much as you'd like, chop the spinach and wash in salad spinner if needed. Add spinach and lemon juice to the soup, turn slow cooker to high if you were cooking on low, and cook about 30 minutes more. (A little longer won't hurt, but the longer you cook the spinach the darker green it will get. Add another cup or two of stock at this point if the soup seems thicker than you'd like.) Serve soup hot, with a tablespoon or two of crumbled Feta sprinkled on each serving if desired.
, I couldn't resist turning it into a soup. And since lentils are a limited food for Phase One, I added other ingredients like celery, tomatoes, and lots of stock so I could have a larger serving. This slow cooker recipe starts with just lentils, chopped celery and onion, garlic, vegetable or chicken stock, canned tomatoes, and spices, and if you chop the vegetables the night before it's easy to throw in the slow cooker in the morning and let it cook all day. When you get home, add chopped spinach to the soup with some lemon juice and cook a bit longer, then scoop into bowls, add Feta, and you have a tummy-warming soup for dinner. I've never used Feta as a soup topper before, but I loved how it added a vibrant burst of flavor.

Add the chopped spinach to the soup with the lemon juice, turn to high if cooking on low, and cook on high for 30 minutes more. (Add a little more stock at this point if the soup seems thicker than you'd like.)

(Makes about 8 servings; recipe inspired by Greek Lentils in the

When the lentils are softened as much as you'd like, chop the spinach and wash in salad spinner if needed. Add spinach and lemon juice to the soup, turn slow cooker to high if you were cooking on low, and cook about 30 minutes more. (A little longer won't hurt, but the longer you cook the spinach the darker green it will get. Add another cup or two of stock at this point if the soup seems thicker than you'd like.) Serve soup hot, with a tablespoon or two of crumbled Feta sprinkled on each serving if desired.

, but portion size is limited for Phase One. In a soup like this with stock, tomatoes, onions, celery, and spinach in addition to the lentils you can have a little more, but I would still eat a fairly small bowl of this with a moderate amount of Feta for Phase One, with something like a big green salad on the side.