Welcome to The GOOD Lunch. Every Tuesday and Thursday for the next year, the GOOD team has pledged to take it in turns to cook and share a big bowl of healthy, vegetarian, seasonal soup or salad. We’re on the hunt for new recipes that are easy to bring, serve, and share in the workplace, and we will post everything we try, along with a five-star ranking of its portability and taste. We hope this will inspire you to make your office lunch a good one.
Lentil-Potato-Spinach Soup (inspired by a Bon Appetit recipe from May 1995)
The Ingredients:
Makes 10-12 servings
1/2 cup olive oil
6-8 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 quarts canned vegetable broth
4 cup lentils, rinsed, picked over
2 lbs red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 lemons
1 lb torn fresh spinach leaves (about 6 quarts)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup chopped fresh mint (dried will suffice if you cannot find fresh)
Crumbled feta cheese (optional)
The Method:
• Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and stir about a minute.
• Add vegetable broth and lentils; cover and bring to boil.
• Lower heat, and let simmer 10 to 12 minutes with the lid still on.
• Add potatoes; cook uncovered until potatoes and lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
• Grate 2 teaspoons peel from lemon (should take 2-3 lemons); squeeze enough juice from lemons to measure 6 tablespoons. Add lemon peel, lemon juice, spinach and cayenne to stew. Cover and simmer for about 3-4 minutes or until spinach wilts and is cooked through.
• Mix in mint—fresh or dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
This can be prepared a day before. Just cover and refrigerate and re-heat over low heat (or in the microwave) before serving. After dishing out, top off with some crumbled feta and enjoy!
The Breakdown:
How did our soup do in terms of taste and portability—and how easy or hard was it to prepare?
Cost: $25 (total)
Prep Time: 45-60 min
Taste: 3.5 stars
Portability: 5 lunchboxes
Make it yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
