• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups finely chopped onion (1 medium onion)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrot (2 large carrots)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 cups (12 ounces) lentils, picked and rinsed
• 8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 heaping cups shredded kale or spinach
• 1 to 2 lemons
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs like parsley or dill, optional
• Fine sea salt, to taste

• Heat the oil in a large pot (like a Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add the onions, carrot, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring occasionally until they are softened and starting to smell sweet, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, black pepper, and turmeric and cook for 30 seconds.
• Stir in the lentils and broth. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Taste then adjust with salt (we add between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon depending on how well seasoned the broth is). Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Uncover the pot and stir in the kale (or spinach) and cook, uncovered, another 5 minutes. Take the soup off of the heat, and then stir in the juice of half a lemon and the fresh herbs. Taste the soup, and then season with additional salt and/or lemon juice. (I like quite a bit of lemon.)
• Serve or if you prefer the soup to be blended, use an immersion blender to blend until your desired consistency. Alternatively, you can use a stand blender to blend all or part of the soup. For even more lemon flavor, serve with a few lemon slices.

Calories 298 / Total Fat 5.5g / Saturated Fat 0.8g / Cholesterol 0mg / Sodium 1155.9mg / Total Carbohydrate 45.3g / Dietary Fiber 8g / Total Sugars 5.2g / Protein 19.5g