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Zuppa di quinoa e lenticchie

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This recipe we found on the internet by chance. We were looking for new ways to cook spinach. It turns out that in this recipe you barely need spinach, the main ingredients are others, and the main flavour comes from them. Nevertheless, it's a high-protein and high-nutrients recipe which I am so glad we found! It's incredibly easy to make, you basically just put everything together and let it simmer. I've put the ingredients for 4 people, because even if it's two of us at home, when we cook something like this, we'd always make a bit more and eat it again for lunch the day after.

Ingredients (4 people)#

  • Onion: 1 large or 2 small ones
  • Carrots: 2 small-medium ones
  • Celery: 1 stalk
  • Olive oil: 2 tbsp
  • Garlic: 3-4 cloves
  • Ground cumin: 1 tsp
  • Vegetable broth: 1 litre
  • Quinoa (uncooked): 180 gr
  • Green lentils (cooked): 500 gr
  • Chopped tomatoes: 800 gr (2 cans)
  • Oregano: 0.5 tsp
  • Salt: 1 tsp
  • Spinach leaves: 100 gr
  • Lemon juice: to taste

Method#

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Chop the onion, carrots and celery and add them to the pan. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until the vegetables are a bit tender
  2. Press and chop the garlic cloves, and add them to the pan
  3. Add the grounded cumin as well, and cook for a minute or so - not too long because it will start to stick on the pan
  4. Add the quinoa, lentils, chopped tomatoes, oregano and salt.
  5. Stir well, bring it to boil, and then lower the flame and let it cook for 20-25 minutes
  6. Whilst it cooks, you need to monitor and add the vegetable broth every now and then. You may not end up using the full litre, but you basically need to continue adding it in small quantities, to let the quinoa absorb the water but without making it a watery soup
  7. Once the time has passed, taste that the quinoa is well cooked, and cook for a bit longer if necessary
  8. Then turn off the heat and add the spinach and lemon juice. I suggest adding just a sprinkle of lemon juice to start with, stir well and taste. Then add a bit more lemon, as much as needed, to your taste. The lemon is needed to compensate the flavours and turn down the intensity of the strong tomato flavour; however, too much lemon will just make it acidic, so that's why I suggest adding bits, stirring, tasting, and adding again as needed.
  9. Now it ready to serve!

Tips#

I suggest toasting some bread in the over with a bit of olive, salt and herbs on top, and use to accompany the soup. Enjoy!!