Sundays with Marlena Spieler-A Potage of Red Lentils

Okay...my husband and I just got back from a 4 day vacation in Monterey with his folks. We made many happy memories..and I learned so much about Dave. I love him even more than ever. But..I had to make Marlena Spieler's "potage of lentils". My blogger pals and I continue to cook and blog our way through Jewish Cooking.

Ingredients: Serves 10, at least ( increased the ingredients...have a party tomorrow)
5 tablespoons of good olive oil
1 finely chopped large onion
3 celery sticks..finely chopped
3 carrots..finely chopped
3 tablespoons minced parsley
2 packed cups of fresh baby spinach
8 garlic cloves..finely chopped
2 med. potatoes...peeled and chopped medium
3 cups red lentils
12 cups of veggie stock
4 bay leaves
4 lemons..halved
2 tsp. fresh ground cumin
hot sauce to taste
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
to serve: slices of lemon and parsley

Heat the oil in a dutch oven..and throw in the onion,potato, carrots, celery, and half of the garlic. Cook on med low for about 8 minutes. Do not burn the garlic!

Throw in 12 cups of veggie stock and 3 bay leaves..and let simmer for 30 minutes with lid on. I added a lemon cut in half as well. Make sure it is at a simmer..not a boil. After 30 minutes, add the cumin to taste..and squeeze in more fresh lemon juice to taste. Add salt if needed. I added about two cups of baby spinach leaves at this point.

I then, in batches, whirled the potage into a food processor until smooth. I offered hot sauce to those who wanted it.

At the very end, I squirted a bit a fresh lemon juice and added some minced parsley into the potage. Delish!!!!!

Be sure to check out this weeks offerings from Shankari and Eileen.