Monday, September 30, 2013

FAREWELL SWEET SEPTEMBER! (LEMON SPINACH LENTIL SOUP)

"Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons." 

~ Jim Bishop




LEMON SPINACH LENTIL SOUP

~ A fall favorite

4  Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 diced stalks of celery
3  diced carrots
2  medium diced sweet onions
4-6  minced garlic cloves
3  bay leaves 
1  Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (1 tsp. dried)
Freshly ground black pepper & coarse salt to taste
2  quarts organic chicken (or vegetable) broth
1  28 oz. can diced tomatoes
3  cups rinsed lentils (I like black, French green and red)

juice and zest from large lemon
1/2  lb. baby spinach 

  • In large stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery and cook until tender. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook for 2 minutes. 
  • Add broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, and lentils. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes or until lentils are soft. 
  • Add lemon zest, juice, and spinach. Cook until spinach wilts. Adjust seasonings. (Puree 1/2 of soup for creamier texture ~ add a bit of water if too thick). 

8 comments:

Gatsbys Gardens said...

This is one of my favorite soups. My children even loved it but would not take it to school because of the way it looked!

Eileen

joey said...

I love Lentil Soup, Eileen ... have many recipes my fav seems to be the one I am eating at the time :) Happy Autumn :)

Marysol said...

There you are - I've missed you!

Love lentil soup. Love you. Love sunflowers!

You may not know this, but when I was little, some kids at school would call me 'Marysol/Girasol.' Girasol (Sp. for sunflower)

The little imps thought their rhyme was so witty. And, truth be told, after seeing the beauty in your photograph (and the fact that 40 years have passed), I guess you could say I'm over it :)

Happy Autumn Amiga!

Rose said...

September was a warm month for autumn; I'm looking forward to more seasonable weather this month. Happy October, Joey!

Nutty Gnome said...

MMMMMM! :-)
This sounds delicious Joey and as I've got a glut of spinach (amongst other things!) I'm going to give this a go.
I've had a lovely time wandering through your back posts...I just love the tree carving - fabulous! Can I borrow him to pop over and do me one on one of my trees please?!
I feel like my blogging mojo is coming back, so you should be seeing a bit more of me on here rather than just on FB!

Beth at PlantPostings said...

Joey: It's always such a pleasure to visit your blog or see your photos on Facebook! For some reason, you blog wasn't showing up on Blotanical for me, but now that Blotanical is totally down, I'm rediscovering my "faves" in different ways. Again, my visit here is rewarded--with lovely photographs and yummy recipes!

RobinL said...

Every day is a feast at your house Joey!

Diane said...

Sounds like my kind of soup! And there is an abundance of spinach at the local family farm where I shop. Great recipe...thanks!