It’s hard to come down off the high of the show premiere. Not just the excitement around me and the fun I had with my friends who joined me in front my little TV to watch. But seeing how everything got cut together jolted me back into that crazy head space I occupied while filming. After tossing and turning and thinking about the coulda, woulda, shoulda moments – as I had months ago – I got up and took an ambian at 5:30am and finally got some shut eye.
I’m going to channel all those thoughts into a behind-the-scenes post for tomorrow. And hopefully, that will mean I’ll get some sleep tonight, if some enemies tomorrow.
But onto the subject at hand today: this little bowl of lentil comfort is just the kind of thing I like to to eat on a cozy October day for lunch or dinner. I’ve made it a few times this season already. First, for my friends Sarah and Dave to accompany this salad. And twice more for one of my clients whom I cook for every Tuesday. Her seven-year-old daughter is obsessed with this lentil soup, and she requested it again yesterday. My recent spin on it is to stir in coarsely torn baby spinach to up the ante on the healthfulness. The greens casually melt away, but they remain enough to give a nice hint of freshness to what is otherwise a rather heavy-duty pantry soup.
I hope those of you who tuned into the show and the potluck had a great time. But if you’re in need of a little recovery, as I certainly am, there’s nothing like a bowl of soup on a fall evening in front of the TV, so long as you don’t have to watch your own face on it.
xo
Phoebe
October Evening Lentil Soup with Spinach
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion finely diced
- 1 large carrot finely diced
- 1 large stalk celery finely diced
- One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup French green lentils rinsed and drained
- 6 cups chicken veggie stock, or water
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 handfuls baby spinach leaves coarsely torn
Instructions
- In a large lidded Dutch oven or stockpot, heat the olive over a medium flame. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and saute until soft, about 8 minutes. Carefully pour in the tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes, until reduced, pressing down on the tomato chunks with the back of your spatula to crush them.
- Stir in the bay leaf, thyme, soy or Worcestershire, lentils, and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until the lentils are al dente, about 30 minutes.
- Remove cover and skim off any residue from the top of the broth. Stir in the Dijon mustard and salt until well incorporated – it will make the broth slightly creamier and more opaque. Taste for seasoning and add more salt as necessary.
- Gently fold in the spinach leaves and cook until soft and wilted, about 2 minutes.
- To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with a little olive oil. Crusty bread is never a bad thing either.
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe – I’d love to see it!
Hi Phoebe! I have used kale in my sausage lentil soup, but never spinach! This looks both delicious and comforting! Can’t wait to try…
Thanks Elise!! Ooo I’ve been on the prowl for a Portuguese Sausage and Kale Soup recipe. Do you have one?? xo
This looks super cozy and comforting. I too am a fellow lentil soup lover! I can wait to make a great big pot of it–almost as much as I cant wait to see more of your pretty face next tuesday!
viewing party meal?? xoxoxo
hell yeah!
Delicious just like my momma’s.
Brilliant to use mustard as a kind of emulsifier, never thought of that. Sometimes I puree half the lentils to get the creamy consistently. Love your recipes!
I got the link to this recipe from this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phoebe-lapine/one-pot-vegetarian-dinners_b_4033859.html
But I noticed that you flavour the soup with worchestershire sauce which is made from anchovies. Obviously this can be left out but it might be an idea to make a note of that for vegetarians.
Thanks!
Thanks for the note, Ree. You are so right. I’m going to update the recipe ingredients to reflect soy sauce or worchestershire. I’ve made the soup both ways and it tastes great – just forgot which version I had included on the site! Thank you for catching that, and hopefully you’ll give it a try 🙂 xo
You can buy vegan worcestershire sauce. That’s what I used to make this tonight. It was a delicious! Thanks for a quick hearty recipe!
so good to know!! What brand is it? Will recommend it.
The one I used was The Wizard’s Organic Vegan Worcestershire Sauce. You can find it here:
http://www.edwardandsons.com/thewizards_info.itml
Thanks!