Slow Cooker Spiced Lentil Soup with Vegetables

Drescription

Spices often used in Moroccan cuisine like turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and black pepper give this soup complexity and deep flavor. Make it a day ahead, if you can, to give the spices time to mingle and develop. This easy slow-cooker recipe makes it a cinch to get the soup cooking while you do other things.

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• 6 cups vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 3 cups chopped cauliflower
• 1 ¾ cups dried green lentils
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 cups chopped fresh spinach or one (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

1. Combine onions, carrots, garlic, oil, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and pepper in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker (see Tip). Add broth, water, cauliflower, lentils, tomatoes and tomato paste and stir until well combined.
2. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender, 4 to 5 hours on High or 8 to 10 hours on Low.
3. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, stir in spinach. Just before serving, stir in cilantro and lemon juice.