Even though it is technically spring today it is really cold here and I just biked home in the rain so I am going to post this warming soup I made last week. It was partially an attempt to get a little healthier and partly and attempt to warm my spirits up too.
I have been a little distracted the last two weeks because we just put an offer in on a little cabin outside of Vancouver and it is super exciting. We came to the realization that we really couldn’t afford a house here that would satisfy both of us – safe neighbourhood, close to downtown, big yard, not more then 50 years old. It is crazy expensive to live in Vancouver these days. I honestly don’t know how anyone can afford it. Since J and I have no dependents and both make decent money, how do people with kids do it? At any rate, we gave up and started looking at a weekend home and were very lucky because we found one. I may finally be able to have a BBQ, yeay! So look forward to my adventures with my first BBQ.
The other side effect of this is that I am going to be poor. No more shopping in the fancy cheese section for me. Because of this I am going to try and make more of an effort to post affordable meals – a section I am calling Cheap Eats. So this is my first Cheap Eat post. This soup is largely inspired from Ina Garten’s fabulous and original The Barefoot Contessa.
(serves 4-6)
1 cup french lentils
2 cups onion, chopped (1 onion)
2 cups leeks, chopped, white part only
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
¾ teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup celery, chopped (3 stalks)
1 cup carrots, chopped
2 quarts chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups fresh spinach , loosely packed)
1. In a large bowl pour boiling water over the lentils and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large soup pot over medium low heat heat oil and sweat the onions, leeks, garlic with the salt, pepper, cumin and thyme for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrot and celery and cook for another 10 minutes.
3. Add the stock, tomato paste and lentils. Bring to a boil, covered and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.
4. Stir in the spinach and cook for another 5 minutes.
Estimated cost:
$10 total, less then $3 per person.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
That sounds so delicious. Are French lentils the same as brown lentils? Perhaps a pinch of saffron would bring it up to another level, but then that would no longer make it cheap. I’m looking forward to your cheap eats section, there’s nothing better than a delicious meal that costs only a few dollars.
I can see how you might think they are brown lentils. They certainly resemble them when they are cooked. Actually they are a green lentil. However I don’t know enough about lentils to know what the flavor differences are. I am pretty sure that you could substitute though.