Hearty brown lentil soup with a handful of fresh spinach, a comforting dish that goes down a treat on a cold day. Suitable for a vegetarian or vegan diet, but filling enough that even meat lovers will appreciate it.
I’ve make quite a lot of soups recently, probably because on cold weather they just work wonders. And also because soups are super healthy. Brown lentils, for instance, have a high protein and fibre content, improve digestion and maintain a healthy heart, amongst other proven benefits.
They also keep one full for longer. And if you combine this superfood with other vegetables like carrots or spinach, you get the perfect recipe for a great meal. Cold weather or not, this is a real treat.
I strongly believe that there is no such a thing as right or wrong in cooking, it is all up to one’s taste. I never really have a recipe in mind when l go shopping, l usually buy whatever takes my fancy and decide at home what l could cook based on the ingredients l have.
Most of my dishes are made up, as some vegetables just go so well together. If l have fresh spinach in the fridge, l tend to throw a bit in pretty much everything l cook. No harm can be done, it just adds extra goodness to any dish.
You can replace spinach with kale or cavolo nero, they should not change the texture very much. Use more vegetable stock (broth) if you don’t want a thick stew-like consistency.
I never soak the lentils before cooking, not sure if that changes the cooking time in any way, l wouldn’t think so, although l might be wrong. Unlike the split red lentils, which cook really quickly, the brown ones need a bit longer to cook through.
Now, I hardly ever use strong spices when I make lentil soup, as I prefer the more “natural” taste of the lentils and vegetables. So salt and pepper are usually on my list, but you can safely use a pinch of cumin, coriander seeds, turmeric, and chilli. The only time l used spices was with my Red lentil sweet potato carrot soup { V +GF}, and surprisingly, l absolutely loved it.
Healthy food is actually a lot easier to make than people think, and these very simple ingredients make the best dishes.
If you’ve liked my BROWN LENTIL SOUP or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
- 1 cup of brown lentils
- 2 carrots
- 1 red onion
- 3 spring onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 l of vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp of tomato passata
- 1 handful of fresh spinach
- fresh parsley
- salt and pepper
-
Chop the red onion finely.
-
Add the oil to a saucepan and fry the onions until translucent.
-
Add the vegetable stock and brown lentils and cook on a medium heat for at least 20 minutes. Vegetable stock can be replaced with chicken or beef stock, but l wanted my recipe suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
-
Once the lentils start to become tender, chop the spring onions, carrots, garlic, spinach and add them to the pan.
-
Continue to cook until the brown lentils are soft, but not mushy and the other vegetables are tender.
-
Season well with salt and pepper and add the tomato passata.
-
The liquid would have been absorbed almost completely by now, but depending on one's taste, you may add some more vegetable stock if you'd rather not have a thick soup.
-
Serve hot!
No Comments