February Fabulousness?!: Lentil & Sorrel Soup with Ras-El-Hanout

January has drawn to a close and it's the first day of February and I realize that I'm bereft without a recipe. If you are too, I want to assure you that there are many amazing recipes coming, some of them from Chefs In Real Life, but meanwhile, let me share a favorite lentil soup. Lentils: so humble, yet they will, I believe, inherit the earth. -- MsW

You can find this at any good gourmet store like Surfas, or Monsieur Marcel

Sorrel, which gives a subtle lemony flavor, is added at the last moment

Lentil & Sorrel Soup with Ras-El-Hanout

A cup or so of green lentils
A handful of quinoa
A little bit of onion, chopped
A bit of carrot, chopped
Some celery, chopped
A tin of chopped tomatoes
A fresh tomato, chopped
A handful of sorrel or spinach or kale, chopped roughly
A sprinkle (may 1 tsp) of Ras-El-Hanout
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Water

This is the easiest vegan soup on the planet. And quick. It's a perfect lunch. Monica, who hates anything that smacks of vegetarian, ate two bowls of the stuff.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, throw in the lentils and cook for about 20 minutes. 10 minutes in, throw in the quinoa.
Meanwhile, sweat the onions, carrot, celery (mirepoix) in some olive oil.
Throw in the lentils & quinoa.
Toss in the can of tomatoes and the extra tomato (if there's one you want to get rid of -- as I don't refrigerate my tomatoes I always feel the need to use them quickly)
Throw in the sorrel (this is from the farmer's market & my favorite, but any green leafy thing will do)
Toss in an extra cup of water (so the mixture is at your desired consistency, depending on whether you are a thick soup person or a thin soup person).
Add salt and pepper to taste and a fat sprinkling of Ras-El-Hanout.
Simmer for a few minutes so that the sorrel wilts and the tomatoes cook.
Serve with a little good olive oil on top.