Cleaning out my pantry at year’s end, I came across nearly two cups of French green lentils and about a quarter cup of Belugas screaming, “Use me”. Prior to storing, I’d sorted for damaged seeds, stones then tightly sealed them separately in glass jars, knowing they’d keep indefinitely in this cool dark cupboard until it was time to thoroughly rinse and create, but what?
Recent rainy days triggered a sense memory of a former client’s savory vegan soup of brown lentils, tomatoes and spinach and sent me on a personal file search that came up bubkas.
God bless the Internet as right there, on allrecipes.com, I found Marie’s nearly 4.5-star rated Lentil Soup. It was close if not a match, off to Trader Joes!
Creature of kitchen shortcuts these days I grabbed one container of Mirepoix (diced carrots, celery and onion) dashing home to incorporate my high protein, fiber and potassium legumes in time for dinner. It was absolutely delish even with my tweaks (see notes below)
How could I not share? You too can enjoy Marie’s Lentil Soup, which serves six by my calculations (recipe didn’t state quantity).
- 1 onion chopped (Trader Joes’ Mirepoix)
- 1/4- cup olive oil (Trader Joes’ Spanish Olive Oil cuz it’s so mild)
- 2 carrots, diced (Trader Joes’ Mirepoix)
- 2 stalks celery, chopped (Trader Joes’ Mirepoix)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (Trader Joes’ Organic Diced, No Salt Added)
- 2 cups dry lentils (Remember to sort for stones and rinse! Leftover Belugas put this over but wasn’t noticeable.)
- 8 cups water (Any opportunity to use my reverse osmosis alkaline system makes me smile.)
- 1/2- cup spinach, rinsed, thinly sliced (I used close to 2 cups Trader Joes’ pre-washed organic as it reduces to nearly not noticeable.)
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (I used Balsamic but I bet lemon would work too.)
- Salt and pepper to taste
In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery (Mirepoix); cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano and basil; cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in lentils and add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least one hour. When ready to serve, stir in spinach and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper and more vinegar if desired.
caloriecounts.com’s Recipe Analyzer gives Marie’s Lentil Soup a nutrition Grade A!
