Category
Soup and Salads
Author:
Michele Scicolone
We eat a lot of soup in our family. One of our favorites is Homemade Lentil Soup with Spinach. What I like about this recipe from the cookbook “Savoring Italy” from Michele Scicolone, is that it is easy to prepare and leftovers freeze very well. I am all about pulling out dinner from the freezer. Life gets busy but we all try to avoid those plastic hamburgers and greasy fries from the local fast food joint. Why not make extra soup to take to work or to warm up and eat when you get home from a long day at the office? Add a salad and some crusty French Bread and you will have a delicious dinner.
Ingredients
1 Yellow onion, Chopped
2 Celery Stalks, Chopped
2 Small Carrots, peeled and Chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 1/4 cups green lentils
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1 24 oz jar of Marina’s Tomato Sauce
8 cups Homemade or store bought Chicken Stock
1 bag of Baby Spinach
1/2 cup of grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
Directions
In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the onion, celery and carrots in the olive oil, stirring frequently until golden about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the tomato sauce, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes to reduce the liquid.
Pick over the lentils, discarding any stones or misshapen lentils.
Rinse well and stir into the saucepan. Stir well, add the soak and bring to simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered, until partially softened about 30 minutes.
Add the spinach, salt and pepper and cook until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes longer.
Big John likes his Lentil Soup with Kielbasy. You can add this for the last 15 minutes or so.
Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.