French Lentil & Spinach Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1 large or 2 smaller carrots, finely diced
1 small fennel bulb, finely diced (or 1 large celery stalk)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon prepared mustard (I used stone-ground)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups french green lentils de puy, optionally soaked for 4-8 hours
1 bay leaf
6 - 8 cups vegetable stock or water
salt and black pepper
4-6 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves, washed
parmesan, for serving

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over a medium flame until is shimmers. Add the onion, carrot and fennel, and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute, being careful not to let it burn. Add the mustard and tomato paste. Cook, stirring, until it forms a film on the bottom of the pan, 1-2 minutes.


Add the red wine, scrape up all the good stuff from the bottom of the pan, and let the mixture simmer until slightly thickened, 2 minutes. Drain the lentils if soaked, and add them to the pot along with the bay leaf and vegetable stock or water (use the smaller amount if the lentils have been soaked). Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.


Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt (less if your stock is salted) and continue to cook, covered, until the lentils are very tender, about 10 minutes. Green lentils hold their shape well, so if you see some beginning to fall apart, the soup is probably done.


Stir in the spinach leaves and simmer until wilted, 1-2 minutes. Or, if you're not serving all of the soup right away, save the spinach leaves and add them as you heat up individual portions of soup.


Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed and freshly ground pepper. Serve bowls of soup topped with freshly grated parmesan and more pepper.


Serving Size: makes 8 servings about 1 1/2 cups each

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CORKY712.