Info:

Time: 1.5 hours, 15 minute prep. Serves 8. Goes great with warm grilled pita bread and a crisp Greek salad.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • half cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup finely chopped carrots
  • 1.5 cups chopped onions
  • 8 cups water
  • 24 ounces beef stock or broth
  • 2 cups dry lentils, rinsed
  • 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
  • 1.5 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
  • 1.5 teaspoons chopped mint (optional)
  • half teaspoon salt
  • half teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 10 ounces of frozen chopped spinach, thawed

Directions:

  • Greek lentil soup vegetablesIn a large stock pot, heat the oil and saute garlic, celery, onions, and carrot until veggies are tender. Make sure the oil covers the bottom of the pan before throwing the vegetables in. The oil will get runnier as it warms. Keep the heat somewhere around medium. If the oil is crackling, it’s too high. Toss the vegetables around so that they are heated evenly. I just waited until the carrots were soft enough to stick a fork in one without hearing a “crisp”.
  • Add the water, stock, and the rinsed lentils. To rinse the lentils, put them in a bowl or pot, run water over them, and drain.
  • Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer (low or medium-low), cover and cook for 45 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the tomatoes, along with the juice in the can, as well as the chopped herbs, and salt and pepper.
  • Greek lentil soup spinachStir in the spinach and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes more. I rinsed my spinach too. Rinsing produce is generally a good idea.
  • Re-check seasoning before serving. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Assessment:

Thick with lentils and spinach, this soup was hearty and filling. The carrots are tender and steeped with flavor.

Greek lentil soup finished

Lessons learned:

I didn’t have any tomatoes, so I poured in 8 ounces of tomato juice instead. This worked well enough, but the diced tomatoes would have added some color to the soup and given it more texture, so I recommend using actual tomatoes. Also, my carrot slices were too thick (I didn’t see the “finely chopped” part above), so although they were moist and delicious, there were only one or two slices per bowl, which was too sparse, and boring.

Recipe from Recipezaar.