Curry Lentil Soup

In case you're wondering, I don't exlusively cook horribly fattening albeit fatally delicious meals. They are just so much more fun to take pictures of and blog about than healthy things like salad and whatnot.I've made this a half-dozen times now, and this makes a great comforting soup that actually has a great flavor and is a satisfying meal. I added chicken base and bacon fat, but if you use substitutes, this can be made entirely vegetarian.

4 small red potatoes or 1 lb russet, diced into small 1/2 cubes

2 large stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 lb diced tomato

2 cups frozen chopped spinach

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp bacon fat or oil

8 cups water

1 tbsp chicken base

1 1/2 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp badia complete seasoning

salt & pepper to taste

1 lb of lentils (about 2 cups)

Tip from me: Celery leaves are great in soup. No need to discard that good stuff! When I use celery stems in things like tuna salad, I save the leaves for soup. Likewise, when using herbs like cilantro or parsley, don't just use the leaves, throw in the stems, too. Use everything you can, just wash it first. I put cilantro in the food processor. The stems have a lot of flavor!

Add the bacon fat or oil and the chopped carrot, celery, onion, potato, and garlic. Mix it up and leave it to cook covered on medium heat while you rinse your lentils.

Add all remaning ingredients (make sure you have a big pot!) and bring to a boil.

When it comes to a boil, turn it down to med-low heat and leave to simmer until the lentils and potato chunks are soft (about 30 mins).

The soup is going to be chunky, so you can add more broth and less veggies if you like it more soupy.

It got the seal of approval from Jorge, who said that he could smell it before he came in the house. It came out great, and I'd make it again! It's pretty healthy except for the oil/fat I added at the beginning. If you want to omit that part, you can add all your ingredients together at once and boil them. You can also add less water and serve as a stew over rice. Cilantro would also make a great garnish for this soup.