Make-Fast Mondays: Curried Red Lentil, Chickpea and Spinach Soup

Looking for a quick, vegetarian-friendly dinner that’s both filling and flavorful? Give this lentil soup a go.

Curried Red Lentil, Chickpea and Spinach Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 tablespoons red curry paste
1 bay leaf
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
3 cups vegetable broth
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup reduced-fat coconut milk
2 cups chopped baby spinach
Salt, to taste
Chopped cilantro, for garnish

Heat oil in large pot. Add garlic and onion and sauté over medium for 5 minutes, until softened and fragrant. Add curry paste, bay leaf, lentils and broth to pot. Increase heat and bring to a boil, then bring the heat down to low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until lentils are tender. Stir in coconut milk and spinach. Simmer for a couple minutes until spinach is wilted. Season soup with salt, and garnish with cilantro before serving.

Hearty lentil soup perfect for a stormy night

I don’t know why I ever found soup intimidating.

I’ve only attempted a few pots on my own, but every time, I’m amazed by how easy it is to make soup, and how flavorful the end result turns out.

Friday’s gray, stormy conditions were perfect soup weather, so I decided to give lentil soup a go. I bought the kielbasa and lentils a few days ago — Winco’s bulk food bins are my new best friend, I think a pound of lentils cost me 70 cents — and put post-stuffing vegetables to good use. The choice in herbs was based solely on what’s in my spice cabinet at the moment.

This recipe resulted in a pretty hefty pot of soup (maybe 8 large servings), so some of the leftovers went into the freezer for a future stormy night.

Hearty Lentil Soup with Kielbasa
2 ½ cups dry lentils
10 cups chicken broth
14 oz. kielbasa, cut into slices
1 ½ cups chopped carrots
1 ½ cups chopped celery
2 medium white onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, celery and carrots and sauté vegetables for roughly 5 minutes, or until they soften slightly. Add kielbasa and herbs to pot, stirring with vegetables for 2-3 minutes, and then add lentils, broth and bay leaves. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are soft (in my case, this was roughly 30-40 minutes).