Palestinian Spinach and Lentil Soup

Continuing on our culinary journey from Thursday's book club, today's posting will be the recipe for the second soup I created.  This time I was inspired by the Tabikh Sabanikh (Spinch Stew) in my The Gaza Kitchen cookbook by Laila el-Haddad I recently purchased.

However, since I was already using chickpeas in my Egyptian Tomato and Chickpea Soup, I didn't want to have two dishes to have the same main ingredient.  So my search lead me to the Addas Bi Hamoud (Spinach and Lentil Soup) in my Pita the Great cookbook by Virginia T. Habeeb.

Here is my adaptation of both recipes into my own Palestinian Spinach and Lentil Soup creation for book club.

Palestinian Spinach and Lentil Soup by A Crafty Arab

Ingredients
2 cups lentils
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 large red potatoes, cut into one inch squares, skin on
1 packet frozen spinach
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon coriander

Directions
1 - Wash and drain the lentils twice.  Add them to a large pot with the water and after they come to a boil, add the salt.  Cover them and reduce to simmer for an hour.
2 - In a skillet, heat the olive oil and add the onions and the garlic.  Cook them for about 5 minutes until they become translucent over medium heat.
3 - Add the onions and garlic cooked mixture to the lentil pot.  Stir in the potatoes, spinach, lemon juice, and coriander until everything is mixed.
4 - Recover the pot and continue to simmer for another 20 mintues for the potatoes to cook.