Lentil Veggie Soup

When the cat's away the mouse will play... with lentils. (Apparently I'm a mouse...) Jeremy is away doing research in Albany, leaving me by myself in Rochester.  I've never cooked lentils before but when I went grocery shopping this weekend, I decided to buy some and try.  And the result was a delicious (and vegan!) soup.

I used a lot of veggies to add bulk and depth of flavor to this soup.  I know I'm weird but I adore vegetables.  And this soup was a great way to use a lot of them.  I'm really pleased with how this soup turned out since I just sort of threw things at a pot if I felt like using it... really my preferred method of cooking. :)

I added a bit of hot sauce to my bowl right after I took the picture.  Stirred it in just to add a little bit of a vinegar/spicy flavor.  Delicious.  (You could add a little squeeze of lemon juice or a dash of vinegar if you don't want the spice... or it was delicious as is too.)

This was a thick soup... almost stew like.  Definitely had great flavor -- tasted like it had been cooking a really long time but was finished in under an hour.  This would have been great with some nice crusty bread to go along with it.  But since I don't have any bread made right now, I'm just having a big bowl of soup for dinner.

This was also a really inexpensive meal.  Any type of bean is cheap, lentils are no exception.  So using just a few spices and veggies I turned my pound of lentils into a large amount of yummy food.  And I have a huge pot of soup leftover.  :)

Recipe:
2 medium onions, diced finely
3 large carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 c. baby spinach, chopped (You could substitute 1/2 c. frozen chopped spinach)
1 15 oz. can, diced tomatoes (no salt added)
3 tbs. tomato paste
1 lb. lentils (rinsed and picked over for stones, etc.)
8 c. water
1/2 c. red wine (I had a malbec open, so I used that)
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. tumeric
2 dried bay leaves
3 tbs. olive oil

1. Heat a large pot over medium high heat.  Add olive oil.  When hot, add the onions, celery, and carrots.  Saute until the onions are translucent and the celery and carrots begin to soften (5-7 minutes).  Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
2. Add tomato paste and stir to mix it throughout the veggies.  Add diced tomatoes (with the juice from the can) and bay leaves.  Stir to combine.
3. Add lentils, water, and wine.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and add coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, and tumeric.  Simmer for approximately 40 minutes until the lentils are tender.
4. Add spinach, stirring until the spinach wilts.
5. Remove bay leaves.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Ladle into bowls and enjoy.