The Recipe Room

This easy-to-prepare Spinach and Lentil Soup makes a great starter or first course, and if you combine it with whole grain rice it provides a complete meal.  I find it is the perfect thing to warm me up when I come in from a run on a cold winter’s day, especially with the heat of the red chilli peppers.  In fact, I’ve toned down the spiciness of this version quite a lot as I know a lot of people don’t like it too spicy.  If you’re like me though, and you do like it hot, then I recommend increasing the quantity of red chili pepper significantly, anywhere from  ¾  of a teaspoon up to 1½ or even 2 teaspoons.

As always, the best results are obtained if you try and get the best possible quality fresh ingredients you can find – nobody likes wilted, damp spinach, not even in a soup!  So make sure it’s fresh, organic if possible, and be sure to wash it well under running cold water to clean off all the dirt.

For a bit of an exotic touch, try substituting the parsley for fresh coriander.  If you do this, add it just before serving so that it maintains its aroma.  Enjoy!

You need:

• 2 cups of dried lentils
• 9 cups of water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 150g of tomato paste
• 2 bunches of spinach, cleaned & chopped
• ½ cup of fresh parsley
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp. crushed red chili peppers
• ¼ cup of fresh lemon juice

Steps:

1. Put the water, bay leaf and salt in a large pot and bring to the boil.
2. Add the lentils, cover, and cook for 30 minutes over a medium-low heat.
3. Add the onion, tomato paste and garlic and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
4. Add the spinach, parsley, ground pepper and red pepper.
5. Mix well and cook for another 10 minutes.
6. Add more salt to taste.
7. Add the lemon juice, mix well and serve at once.
8. Garnish with a bit of fresh ground nutmeg and a sprig of fresh parsley.

Ready In:  75 minutes

Serves:  3-4

Difficulty:  Out of 5 (most difficult), it’s a 2!

Tags: bay leaf, black pepper, chili peppers, garlic, lemon juice, lentils, onions, parsley, salt, spinach, Spinach and lentil soup, tomato paste, water, wheat-free

This entry was posted on Tuesday, 14 February, 2012 at 1:31 pm by Jack Williams and is filed under Main Courses, Meal for 4 people. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed RSS 2.0. You can leave a comment, or make a trackback from your own blog.