Mediterranean Lentil Soup
Brown lentils, tomato, cumin, spinach and lemon finish.
Maui's an app that plans a whole week of dinners like this one. See how it works ↓
The lemon at the end is non-negotiable - it's what wakes the whole bowl up. Tasting before lemon and then after is genuinely a magic trick.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 6 servings.
- 1½ cupsbrown lentilsrinsed and picked over
- 3 tbspolive oil
- 1 mediumyellow oniondiced
- 2carrotsdiced
- 2celery stalksdiced
- 5garlic clovesminced
- 1½ tspground cumin
- 1 tspground coriander
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- 2bay leaves
- 1 cancanned diced tomatoes
- 6 cupsvegetable broth
- 4 cupsbaby spinach
- 2lemon1 juiced, 1 wedges
- ¼ cupfresh parsleychopped
- 1½ tspkosher salt
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 290calories
- 16gprotein
- 40gcarbs
- 8gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Rinse lentils in a sieve; pick out any debris.
- Dice onion, carrot, celery; mince 5 garlic cloves.
- Juice 1 lemon; wedge the rest. Chop parsley.
Sweat veg
Heat olive oil in the pot over medium. Add onion, carrot, celery, and salt. Cook 8 minutes until softened and just starting to color.
8 min · hands onBloom
Add garlic, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika. Stir constantly 45 sec until intensely fragrant.
1 min · hands onSimmer
Add lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, broth, and remaining salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Partially cover and cook 30-35 min, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender.
33 min · hands offWilt and brighten
Fish out bay leaves. Stir in spinach; cook 2 min until wilted. Off heat, stir in lemon juice. Taste - adjust salt.
2 min · hands onServe
Ladle into bowls. Top each with a swirl of olive oil, parsley, and a lemon wedge.
1 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Red lentils break down completely; simmer 20 min instead of 30. Saves about 10 minutes.
Hold shape better; simmer 35-40 min total. Adds about 5 minutes.
Stir 2 cups chopped kale in 5 min before the spinach.
Toast or warm 5 min while soup finishes.
What keeps
Soup gets better day 2 and day 3. Keeps 5 days in fridge, freezes 3 months.
Add fresh lemon and olive oil per bowl when serving - they fade with reheating.
Meet Maui,
the three-legged cat
who plans your dinner.
Think of her as a sous chef for your whole table. She plans dinner everyone will look forward to - built around your schedule and working in everyone's taste and dietary restrictions. That's the mental load of dinner, off your plate.
Join The WaitlistCurrently in closed beta on iPhone.
