Lentil Soup with Carrots, Spinach & Sundried Tomatoes

I'm a bit freaky for lentils.... absolutely LOVE them!
When I saw this recipe at Taste, Love and Nourish, I knew it was a "keeper".

A hearty lunch, or dinner during the fall or winter.
Frankly this one is good any time of year.
I loved, loved, loved this soup, bright, cheerful, hearty, healthy, meatless.

While the wine does say optional, I whole heartedly recommend it*.  It adds a bit of sweetness, a bit of tang, and a bunch of flavor.

*LOL, that totally made me laugh, 

Serves about 6
Ingredients

3 T. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

approx. 6 sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped

1 C. dry white wine (optional- - but recommended)

8 C. chicken or vegetable stock, home made or low sodium

2 C. lentils, sorted and rinsed

3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped off and stems discarded, or 1 tsp dried thyme

2 large bay leaves

2 large handfuls baby spinach

squeeze of fresh lemon juice (I used 1/2 lemon)

salt and pepper to taste

If needed, 1-2 cups water (If it starts to get too thick)

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onions, celery and carrots just until the onions are soft.  Add the garlic and the sun dried tomatoes.  Continue sautéing for a minute or two longer.

Add the stock, white wine and the lentils. Add the thyme leaves (or dried thyme) and the bay leaves.  Give it a stir.  Once the pot comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, add a lid to the pot and continue simmering.After one hour, check the lentils for doneness.  If you’d like them softer, they should only need another 10 minutes or so. If it seems too thick, add a cup of water.

Here's the soup before I added the spinach, very yummy then too. Heck, I think kale would be nice in this too.

Remove the pot from the heat.  Fish out the bay leaves and discard.

Add the handfuls of spinach, give it a stir, cover the pot and allow to sit for about 5 minutes.  Finally, squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the pot to give it a bright freshness.

  
You like soups?  Me too!!!

Here's some Fall favorites:

Albondigas, Mexican Meatball Soup
Avgolemono- Greek Wedding Soup
Bacon Corn Chowder
Bean with Bacon Soup

Beef Barley, Lazy Girl Crockpot
Black Bean and Smoked Ham Soup, Lazy Girl

Broccoli, Cheddar & Potato Soup

Cheddar Cheese & Beer Soup
Chicken White Bean Chili
Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken, Quinoa & Butternut Squash Stew
Coconut Pumpkin Soup
Creamy Artichoke Soup, Fast & Easy
Curried Cauliflower Soup

Egyptian Red Lentil Soup
French Green Lentils with Onions and Tomatoes 

Hearty Sausage & Lentil Soup
Hot n' Sour Soup
Jambalaya Soup, Easy 
Italian Wedding Soup with Turkey Meatballs
Lasagna Soup with Spinach Ricotta

Mexican Chicken Posole Stew
Mexican Cauliflower Soup (for the soul)

Mushroom, Fennel and Potato Soup
Pork and Chorizo Soup
Portuguese Linguica Sausage, Bean and Kale Stew 
Simple Salmon Chowder
Smoky Shrimp, Corn and Bacon Chowder 
Southwestern Seafood Chowder
Split Pea Soup
Tomato, Ginger Bisque, Maui Style
Tomato, Spicy Mexican
Tomato, Mediterranean Soup