Spicy Red Lentil and Spinach Stew

This is a delicious naturally gluten-free and vegan dish that is filling and healthy.  It might be my absolute favorite food in the world. Inspired by and adapted from Pennythoughts from Wholesome Goodness: http://pennythoughts.wordpress.com/. It's featured in my ecookbooklet So What CAN You Eat? Gluten-free Paleo Vegan (mostly) recipes for Health and Weight Loss, available in the ebooks and resources page.

Spicy Red Lentil and Spinach Stew

1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups red lentils
1 can diced tomatoes (I use Rotel with green chilis - yum!)
6 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp Trader Joe's smoked sea salt
2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tumeric
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
3-5 cups fresh spinach, or 16 oz bag of frozen chopped spinach or other dark leafy green

In a large soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until tender.  Add water, tomatoes, lentils and all the seasonings except the salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes. Add spinach and salt and simmer 10 more minutes or until your greens are as tender as you like. Freezes and reheats very well.

The stew will turn out more green or less green, depending on the green and how finely it is chopped. This batch of soup was made with pretty finely chopped spinach.

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