Jessicas Turkish Spinach And Lentil Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Rinse lentils and bring to a boil in 5 cups salted water or stock. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 40 minutes.
• While lentils boil, in a separate stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onions and the optional bacon. When the onions just begin to soften, add garlic, cayenne, bay leaves, cumin, coriander and chili powder. Cook for a few minutes, but don't allow garlic to brown.
• Add tomatoes and crush with a spoon to your desired consistency. If lentils are ready, add them to the tomato mixture now. If not, take tomatoes off heat and wait for lentils.
• Once lentils have been added to the tomatoes, simmer for 15 minutes over medium heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. You may also want to add some more spices if you like a little more kick to it.
• Add frozen spinach and cook another five minutes. If using fresh spinach, only cook for two minutes.
• If wanted, serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream.
• The lentils do soak up a lot of liquid, so for reheating, you may need to add more stock.

Steps:

• Rinse the lentils.
• Bring them to a boil in the beef broth.
• Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a heavy soup pot. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, cayeene, bay leaves and bulgur.
• Stir the mixture on medium heat until the onions and bulgur are lightly browned.
• Mix in the parsley and tomatoes.
• When the tomatoes begin to give up their juice, gently stir in the tomato paste. Pour the lentils and their liquid into the soup pot with the onions and bulgur.
• Simmer the soup for 15 minutes.
• Add the rosemary, salt and pepper to taste. If the lentils and bulgur have absorbed too much liquid, add more broth, water or tomato juice. Remove the bay leaves.
• Just before serving, stir in the fresh spinach and let it wilt in the hot soup.
• Garnish with more fresh parsley.
• NOTES : Serve this soup with crusty bread.
• Broil the bread on both sides, rubbed with a cut garlic clove, and drizzled with olive oil.

Steps:

• Put the oil, onions, carrots and celery in a large saucepan, and cook for about 10 mins to soften.
• Stir in the lentils and pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 30-35 mins or until the lentils are soft, topping up with water if the mixture begins to dry out. Pop in the spinach and cook for a few mins more, until wilted. Blitz the soup until smooth, then stir through the cream and season. Keep the soup warm over a low heat.
• Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and fry until crisp and golden. Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with a little cream and crumble over the crispy bacon.

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large skillet or Dutch oven and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in carrot, onion, and olive oil cooking until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Cover bacon mixture with chicken broth, water, and salsa; mix in lentils, bay leaf, cumin, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Stir in spinach and potatoes; simmer until spinach is wilted and potatoes are cooked, 10 to 15 minutes longer.

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and fry for 8 mins until soft and translucent. Stir in half the garlic, the chilli, cumin and curry powder and cook for 1 min more. Add the lentils and stock, then cover and simmer for 30 mins over a medium-low heat.
• Put the coriander, remaining oil and garlic, the cashews and lemon zest in a food processor and blitz with 1-2 tbsp water until semi-smooth. Spoon the chutney into a bowl and set aside.
• Stir the spinach into the soup and cook for 5 mins, or until wilted. Tip half the soup into a blender and blitz until smooth, then return this to the pan. Stir through lemon juice to taste.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and top with generous dollops of the cashew chutney.