Lentil Vegetable Soup

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 carrots

1 onion

1 stalk celery

1 teaspoon cumin

4 cloves garlic

6 cups vegetable broth

2 cans (15-ounce each) diced tomatoes

1 cup lentils (uncooked, green or brown)

1 teaspoon thyme (dried)

1 teaspoon oregano (dried)

1½ teaspoons salt (or more to taste)

¼ teaspoon black pepper (or red pepper flakes)

5 ounces spinach ((about 4 to 5 cups))

Directions

make flavor base

To a large pot or dutch oven, warm up the olive oil then add coarsely chopped onion, celery, and carrot, and fry on medium heat for 5 minutes stirring often.

add garlic and cumin

Add grated garlic and cumin and fry for one more minute, or until you smell their aroma.

add other ingredients

Add vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, dried lentils, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, or/and red pepper flakes.Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, then crack the top open and simmer on low heat for about 25 minutes or until the lentils are cooked but still al dente. Stir occasionally.

simmer

OPTIONAL STEP: if you like extra creamy soup, blend about 2 cups of it. You can do this with an immersion blender directly in the pot, or with a regular blender.

add spinach

Add the spinach and simmer for a few more minutes until they wilt and you are happy with the texture and consistency of the soup/lentils.

serve

Taste and adjust for salt. Serve it in a bowl with a slice of toasted bread rubbed with garlic and a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil. Optionally, you can add a squeeze of lemon juice.