Rainy Night--Red Lentil Soup

Thursday was an unseasonably warm January day here on the East Coast. The sun warmed my skin during a midday walk, with readings reaching into the upper 40s. Today dawned with the same promise, but as the hours marched on the skies went grey and a steady drizzle set in. So by day's end I was in fact in the perfect mood for a simple, warming soup and bread dinner.

Red Lentil Soup

Serves 8-10

2  yellow onions chopped fine
5-6 cloves garlic minced
1 carrot, peeled, chopped fine
1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander 
3 cups red lentils
6-8 cups water
2 cubes chicken broth
1 can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
1 can chick peas
3-4 handfuls fresh spinach
 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
salt, pepper 
3-4 tablespoons fresh cilantro sprigs, chopped.

Using a sieve rinse lentils in cold water until it runs clear, set aside.

Heat the oil gently in a large pot, add onions, garlic and carrot and stir until coated with oil. Sprinkle the spices and ginger over the vegetables and saute until onions are translucent and soft, about 4-5 minutes.
Add lentils, and 6 cups of water (add more as needed), broth cubes and tomatoes and stir well.
Simmer for about 25 minutes, under a lid, until the lentils are soft. Check every now and then to see if more water needs to be added. It should be fairly thick in consistency.

Add chick peas and spinach and cook another 5 minutes, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, finally stirred in some fresh chopped cilantro.
The soup can be kept vegetarian by using vegetable broth. Personally, I prefer the depth of flavor gained by using chicken broth.
I toyed with the idea of serving pappadams or naan, either of which would have been a perfect complement but there was a clamor for panini so I decided to keep the flavors simple: caramelized a red onion in olive oil, piled the onion on day-old crusty bread, added slices of mozzarella, buttered the outside of the bread and stuck it in my panini pan until the outside was golden brown.