Lentil Spinach Soup - Instant Pot

I'll replace the ugly steamy picture if I remember one day.

I have spent a lot of time searching Pinterest for more Instant Pot recipes, and this one came up with good reviews.

The flavors are super vibrant and it's so, so healthy. And much to my surprise, it's toddler-approved! I served it alongside latkes, and he ate absolutely none of his latkes but finished his soup. Go figure.

I minced all of the vegetables in the food processor to get them very very fine, because I'm opposed to having pieces of mushy vegetables in my soup.

My only change to the original recipe is that I lowered the amount of salt because I used regular (not low-sodium) vegetable broth.

The Recipe (taken from Kitchen Treaty):

2 tb olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, minced

2 carrots, minced

1 stalk celery, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
1c dry brown lentils, rinsed
4c vegetable broth
8oz baby spinach

In Saute mode, saute onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in olive oil until softened.
Add cumin, turmeric, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir for one minute.
Add dried lentils and broth.
Pressure Cook for 12 minutes, then quick release.
Stir in spinach, and more salt to taste.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A

Overall reason: Healthy, cheap, easy, flavorful. It would be A+ if I liked lentil soup more.

Time to prepare: 30 minutes

Husband quote: (Coming soon)

Comments

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.

Red lentil dal

Cucumber salad is key. This dal is perfect. Most of us took seconds, and I'm really excited to eat the last portion that's sitting in the fridge right now. The accompanying salad is really great for adding texture, crunch, and acidity to the meal. I wouldn't skip it. I got it from Tea for Turmeric and prepared it pretty much as written, but doubled and with none of the optional ingredients. This recipe doesn't mention any seasoning/dressing on the salad, but adding lemon and salt to it really brightened things up. The Recipe: (from Tea for Turmeric) 2 c red lentils splash of avocado oil 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 small onions, finely chopped 1 inch ginger, grated 4 small tomatoes, chopped 2 thai chilies, minced 2 tsp cumin powder 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp turmeric 2+ tsp kosher salt 2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 c cilantro, chopped For serving: basmati rice and plain yogurt Salad ingredients: 1/2 english cucumber, sliced 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered 1/4 onion, slic...

Curry Fried Rice

Excited for these leftovers. One of the things I wanted to try with my new jar of curry powder was fried rice. Years ago, Miles got fried rice at Korea House and it was the best fried rice I'd ever had. I suspected there was curry powder in it, but at that time I had never really cooked with curry powder, so I tucked that knowledge away for a later date. After reading a few recipes, I went rogue on this one. I couldn't even begin to effectively guess at what proportions I ended up with, so the recipe below is more of a rough guideline of ingredients. The "Recipe" (sorry no quantities; follow your heart): leftover jasmine rice tofu, cubed and crisped in the oven with avocado oil and salt vegetables: garlic, onion, cabbage, red bell pepper salt curry powder (I used a Vietnamese one) soy sauce sugar sesame oil future topping ideas: runny egg, sesame seeds, green onion Saute the vegetables in avocado oil until softened, and salt them to taste Add the tofu and toss to...

Adventures of a healthy-ish pseudo-foodie

Search This Blog