Crushing on Jamie and His Lentil Soup

I have a little crush on Jamie Oliver.
Maybe it's the accent.
Maybe it's the fact that food really is the way to my heart.
I don't know, but when it comes to my replacement-for-George-should-anything-horrific-ever-happen, Will Smith is out and Jamie is in.


Tonight's success story comes to you from the pages of my most favorite cookbook of all times, Jamie's Food Revolution:

Just as the subtitle of this book promises, Jamie's Lentil and Spinach Soup is simple, delicious and affordable.  Served with a little salad and a loaf of bread and you've got dinner.

Verdict from the people around my table:

4 grown-up thumbs WAY up

2 kid thumbs WAY up

4 kid thumbs kinda-up (2 of those thumbs has recently declared a dislike of all soups, so her vote barely counts especially since she did eat a whole bowl without too much complaint)

Lentil and Spinach Soup

Source: Jamie's Food Revolution

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly sliced
• 2 sticks celery, sliced
• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
• 2 cups red lentils
• A thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced
• ½-1 red chilli, deseeded, to taste (I omitted the chilli for the sake of the kids)
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved (in the future I will do more tomatoes)
• 7 cups spinach
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• a dallop of natural yogurt, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Put the carrots, celery, onion and garlic together in a pan over medium heat with the lid askew. Cook for 10 minutes until the carrots have softened and the onion is lightly golden.
2. Add the stock to a pot with 1.8 litres (about half a gallon) of boiling water. Stir until the stock is dissolved, then add lentils, tomatoes, ginger, and chilli. Add the carrot-celery-onion mix, along with the pan juices. Stir the soup and bring to the boil.
3. Once the soup has reached boiling point, reduce the heat to a simmer. Put the lid on and leave it for 10 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked. Add the spinach and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Season well with salt and pepper. The soup can be served nice and chunky, as is, or use a hand blender to pulse until smooth. Serve with a dollop of natural yogurt if you'd like.