WEDNESDAy, MARCH 18 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST eZ ee E3
Greek Lentil and Spinach Soup with Lemon
8 servings
Don’t skip the clean zing of lemon, which makes it sing.
Adapted from “Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread” by Crescent
Dragonwagon (Workman Publishing, 1992).
Ingredients
l1 pound lentils, rinsed and
picked over
l 10 cups vegetable broth or
water
l1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed,
seeded and chopped
l2 teaspoons whole coriander
seeds
l 11 / 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
l 21 / 2 teaspoons dried oregano
l2 bay leaves
l2 medium potatoes (1^1 / 4
pounds), scrubbed and cut into
(^1) / 2 -inch dice
l10 ounces baby spinach,
chopped
l1 small butternut squash (1
pound), peeled, seeded and cut
into^1 / 2 -inch dice (about 3 cups)
l2 tablespoons olive oil
l1 large onion, chopped
l2 ribs celery, with leaves, sliced
l3 large garlic cloves, finely
chopped
l2 teaspoons kosher salt, or
more to taste
l^1 / 2 teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper, or more to taste
l2 lemons
l^1 / 3 cup fresh lemon juice
Steps
lIn a large soup pot over
m edium-high heat, combine
the lentils, stock or water, jala-
peño, coriander, cumin, orega-
no and bay leaves. Bring to a
boil, then reduce the heat to
low. Simmer, partially covered,
about 30 minutes, until the len-
tils are tender.
lAdd the potatoes, spinach and
butternut squash, re-cover and
cook another 15 to 20 minutes,
until the potatoes and squash
are tender.
lMeanwhile, in a large skillet
over medium heat, heat the
olive oil until shimmering. Add
the onion, and cook, stirring,
until it starts to soften, 3 to 4
minutes. Add the celery and
garlic and cook, stirring often,
until they soften, 3 minutes.
Add the mixture to the soup,
deglazing the skillet with a little
bit of the broth from the soup,
then add the deglazed contents
back to the soup pot. Add the
salt and pepper, taste, and add
more if needed. Pick out and
discard the bay leaves.
lThinly slice one of the lemons
and cut the other into wedges.
Just b efore serving, stir the lem-
on juice into the soup. Serve the
soup hot, with a lemon slice
floating atop each bowl. Pass
lemon wedges at the table.
nutrition | Per serving (using water): 340
calories, 18 g protein, 58 g carbohydrates,
4.5 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg
cholesterol, 330 mg sodium, 22 g dietary
fiber, 4 g sugar
recipe tested by Joe yonan; email questions
to [email protected]
had made other things we liked
out of Crescent’s book,” he said,
“so I went hunting and found the
Greek lentil soup and made a
batch, and the rest is history.”
That was 17 years ago. Every
other Saturday since, Branson
has made enough of the soup to
fill four glass jars, enough to last
him for eight lunches. (He works
nine days over every two-week
stretch, and on the ninth he goes
back to opening a can.)
Sometimes, if he makes a little
extra soup — if, say, the
butternut squash or potatoes he
buys are bigger than usual —
he’ll have some left over and his
wife gets a taste, too.
In case you think he would get
bored by something he has eaten
thousands of times, far from it.
Even though he always uses the
same ingredients, “the soup
never really tastes the same,” he
said. “It’s always a little bit of a
surprise: The onion came out
strongly this time, or that’s a
really good butternut squash. If I
hadn’t made it as often as I had,
I’d never have noticed that.”
When Branson emailed
Dragonwagon about his soup
fandom, she was delighted:
What cookbook author wouldn’t
be upon hearing that someone
had made one of your recipes
hundreds of times? “I am glad to
have been eating lunch with you
all these years, without even
knowing it,” she wrote him back.
All good things must come to
an end, including Branson’s ritual
lunches. He’s retiring soon. “I
have a countdown clock on my
desk that says 111 days,” he said.
“So I suspect I’ll retire the soup.
But 111 days from today, I plan to
make a big vat of it and bring it to
my retirement party. That way,
everybody else can have some.”
[email protected]
Can you imagine
eating the same
lentil soup at your
desk for lunch
virtually every
workday for
almost two
decades?
I couldn’t, at
least not until I
talked to Reid
Branson, a Seattle nurse
manager who has been doing
just that. The soup is from
Crescent Dragonwagon’s 1 992
book “Dairy Hollow House Soup
& Bread,” and Branson fell so in
love with it that it changed his
lunch routine for the rest of his
professional life.
Branson’s schedule is fairly
unpredictable, as you might
imagine: He supervises the
nursing staff at the HIV clinic of
a public hospital, Harborview
Medical Center, where he and
others have been plenty busy
lately keeping on top of
developments in the coronavirus
outbreak. The one thing he can
depend on, day in and day out, is
this bright, rich and fragrant
Greek lentil and spinach soup.
It’s hearty and thick, with lentils
as the base, bulked up by
potatoes and butternut squash,
and a flavor enlivened by a heavy
dose of aromatic spices — plus a
pop of fresh lemon juice.
“I’m a vegetarian, and getting
a reliable source of protein every
day at lunch is important to me,”
Branson, 63, told me in a phone
interview. “Plus, it’s fun to make.
It’s got a rhythm to it. And at this
point, I can do it without looking
at the recipe.”
This all started when his
favorite brand of canned soup,
his previous workday lunch
habit, changed the recipe to
something he didn’t enjoy. “We
Lentil soup so good you’ll eat it nearly daily for 17 years. (At least one guy did.)
tom mccorKle for tHe WAsHington Post; food styling by lisA cHerKAsKy for tHe WAsHington Post
Joe Yonan
WEEKNIGHT
VEGETARIAN
Creamy Spinach Soup With Goat Cheese
4 to 6 servings
The soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
From cookbook author and nutritionist Ellie Krieger.
Ingredients
l2 tablespoons olive oil
l1 medium yellow o nion,
chopped (about 1 cup)
l1 small russet p otato (6 ounces),
peeled and d iced
l3 cups low-sodium chicken or
vegetable broth
l^1 / 2 t easpoon k osher s alt, o r more
to taste
l^1 / 4 t easpoon freshly ground
black pepper
l 16 cups (8 ounces) fresh baby
spinach
l1 cup low-fat milk ( 1%), or more
as needed; can substitute 1 cup
additional broth
l3 ounces soft goat c heese
(chevre)
l2 tablespoons plain yogurt (low-
fat or full fat)
Steps
lIn a medium pot over medium
heat, heat the o il until shimmer-
ing. Add the onion and cook,
stirring, until softened, about 3
minutes. Add the potato, broth,
salt and pepper and bring to a
boil.
lReduce the heat to medium-low,
cover a nd simmer until t he pota-
to is tender, about 10 minutes.
Add t he spinach, return the s oup
to a boil and cook until the spin-
ach is completely wilted but still
a vibrant green, 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat.
lUsing an immersion blender,
blend the soup until smooth.
(Alternatively, let the soup cool
for 15 minutes, then puree in
batches in a stand blender.)
lReturn t he pureed soup to medi-
um heat; add the milk and cook
until warm but not boiling. Add
the goat cheese to the pot and
whisk u ntil m elted.
lIn a small bowl, stir the yogurt
with just enough water o r milk, a
teaspoon at a time, until it is the
consistency of pancake batter.
lLadle the soup into serving
bowls and, using a fork, drizzle
the yogurt on top as a garnish
and s erve.
nutrition | Per serving: 180 calories, 9 g
protein, 18 g carbohydrates, 9 g fat, 3 g
saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 280 mg
sodium, 4 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar
recipe tested by olga massov; email
questions to [email protected]
March has me
craving green. I’m
impatiently
waiting for blades
of grass to disrupt
all the brown,
cheering on the
early tree buds,
and hankering for
all the edible
spring shoots and
leaves to hit the market.
This soup is just the thing to
satisfy the need for green this
time of year, and it does so in a
way that offers comfort on still-
cool nights. It’s a stunning,
emerald bowl of goodness, made
with fresh spinach leaves
simmered in broth until they
are wilted but still bright, and
then pureed until smooth.
Sauteed onion and potato,
cooked in the broth, add flavor
and extra body, respectively.
And a cup of milk stirred into
the puree rounds out the taste
with extra creaminess and
nutrition, but if you prefer,
additional broth works, too.
For a funky twist, some soft,
fresh goat cheese is melted in —
just enough to add a gentle
grassy depth and delightful
richness without overpowering
the delicate soup.
Garnished with a contrasting
white drizzle of yogurt, this
soup definitely gets the green
light as a warming way to get
your vegetables and transition
into the coming season.
[email protected]
Krieger is a registered dietitian,
nutritionist and cookbook author
who hosts public television’s “ellie’s
real good food.” learn more at
elliekrieger.com.
This emerald-green spinach soup is a perfect way to usher in spring
stAcy ZArin goldberg for tHe WAsHington Post; food styling by lisA cHerKAsKy for tHe WAsHington Post
Ellie
Krieger
NOURISH
food and dining Editor: Joe yonan • Voraciously Editor: matt brooks •
Recipes Editor: Ann maloney • Art director: Amanda soto • designer:
twila Waddy • Photo Editor: Jennifer beeson gregory • food critic: tom
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Editor: olga massov • Copy Editors: Jim Webster; Jordan melendrez
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