The spinach from our garden boxes came in just at the right time. Rather than harvest it and use it little by little, however, since we are moving away, I needed to use it or lose it.
Nice haul.
I also had an overload of lentils in the pantry, most of which probably will not end up getting used before moving day. After flipping through cookbooks, I decided on spinach and lentil soup from the Greens cookbook.
Dinner is served.
Paired with a quick and easy loaf of beer bread (made using Blue Moon’s Winter Abbey Ale), it was a nice, hearty dinner.
Lentil-Spinach Soup
Adapted from The Greens Cookbook
1 cup green lentils, rinsed
1 bay leaf
3 cups vegetable stock
4 cups water
3 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs parsley, chopped
3 medium tomatoes (fresh or canned), peeled, seeded and chopped*, juice reserved
1 lb spinach, any coarse stems removed, washed and roughly chopped
red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar to taste
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese
Put the lentils and bay leaf in a pot with the vegetable stock, water, and reserved tomato juice. Bring to a boil and scoop off any foam, and then lower the heat to a simmer.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a separate skillet and add the onion. Sauté until the onion begins to soften, a few minutes, and then lower the heat and add the garlic and parsley. Continue to cook until the onion is soft. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, and then add the mixture to the cooking lentils.
When the lentils are soft (about 40 minutes), add in the spinach by handfuls. Once it has cooked down, thin the soup, if necessary, by adding more water, and add salt and pepper to taste. Finish off the soup with a splash of red wine or sherry vinegar, and serve topped with grated parmesan.
* I used about half of a 14.5-oz can of tomatoes.
This sounds great! We’ll take two! . . . With the bread.
Mmm… the bread is the easiest part. Tastes great with Shiner, too!
Looks delicious and I love that you grow your own food! Tastes better, healthier, and sustainable!
I completely agree, and it’s fun and satisfying, too! Can’t wait to get the garden up and running in our new place.
The melting cheese in the pot looks so very tempting. Your food pictures are so appealing.
Thank you! I am kind of feeling my way with this photography thing, but I think practice is making me better (well, that and a fabulous camera).
Yes — the awesome camera I got for my birthday has created some awesome shots all by itself without any work on my part. I think the little gremlin who runs the shutter is responsible for the good stuff, and I take full responsibility for the bad.
That spinach is so beautiful, with those rounded leaves. Do you remember what variety you planted?
Isn’t it pretty? I’m pretty sure it was Catalina spinach:
http://www.reneesgarden.com/seeds/packpg/veg/spinach-catalina.htm
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I’m making your soup right now and am glad to see your Beer Bread recipes uses Blue Moon beer. My husband is a “Blue Moon Ambassador” which means he helps patrons paint the Blue Moon beer paintings they leave in the bars at various restaurants. I’ll let you know how they turn out. Sharon
That’s so cool! I love Blue Moon. Let me know how the soup turns out for you!