Lentil Love

I looked for a good vegetarian slow cooker cookbook for a long time.  A lot of them called for either too much processed foods, or had recipes that only needed to be cooked for 2 hours or so.  Neither one of those kinds worked for me.  I needed something I could leave in all day, and something with more fresh foods.  I finally came upon 125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes, it isn't perfect but I think its pretty close!  This lentil soup recipe is one of my favourites.  I remember when my third child was born, I ate this soup every day for weeks!  I was lucky tonight, my Mom had just dropped off some fresh bannock to go with it!

Mediterranean Lentil Soup with Spinach

 1 cup dried green lentils

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, chopped

2 stalks celery, peeled and chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds (crushed)

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 potato, peeled and grated (I don't bother with peeling)

6 cups vegetable stock

8 oz fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

*In a colander, rinse lentils thoroughly under cold running water.  Set aside.

*In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onions, celery and carrots and cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, cumin seeds and lemon zest and cook, stirring for 1 minute.  Transfer mixture to slow cooker.  Add reserved lentils, potato and stock.

*Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on High for 4-6, until vegetables are tender.  Add spinach and lemon juice.  Cover and cook on High for 20 minutes, until spinach is cooked and mixture is hot and bubbling.