Greek Lentil and Spinach Soup with Lemon
—Not On Website, Dragonwagon, Soup
Ingredients
spray cooking oil
1 pound lentils, rinsed and picked over*
2 1/2 quarts vegetable stock or water
1 whole dried poblano pepper, hard stem broken off, or 1 fresh jalapeno, stem removed, halved
aromatics:
2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon EACH dried basil and oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
vegetables:
2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed, or 1 10-ounce bag fresh spinach, well-washed, stems removed, chopped
1 small to medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced (you want to end up with about 2 1/2 cups diced squash)
saute:
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, with leaves, sliced
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
paper-thin slices of lemon to garnish; thin wedges of lemon to pass at the table
Directions
Spray a large, heavy, non-reactive soup pot with oil, and in it combine lentils, stock or water, chile, and aromatics. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, about 30 minutes.
Lift lid. Add potatoes, spinach, and butternut squash, re-cover and let cook another 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.Add onion, and saute, stirring, until it starts to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add the celery and garlic, sauteeing another 3 minutes, stirring often. Add this to the soup, deglazing the skillet with a little soup liquid and adding the deglaze contents back to the soup pot. Add salt and pepper; taste for seasoning.
Just before serving, add the lemon juice and stir well. Serve hot, with a lemon slice floating atop each bowl. Pass lemon wedges at the table, so any who wish can make their portion even more lemony.