Lentils with Spinach and Goat Cheese

Hello everyone!  I had every intention of posting this yesterday, but got caught up running some analyses and forgot about it.  It would have been pretty much perfect for a Meatless Monday dinner or side dish... but yeah.  Keep it in mind for next week?  Sorry, guys.  At any rate, unlike some of my previous postings this year, this recipe is definitely new-year's-resolution-friendly.  It's full of vegetable, high fiber, and protein-rich goodness (among other things).  And it's pretty inexpensive to make.


I found this recipe here: on the blog Just a Taste, and made a few really minor tweaks (swapped olive oil for butter, added arugula in addition to spinach, and added garlic to the greens).  It should yield 8 side dish-sized servings or 6 entree servings.


You'll need:


2 tbs olive oil, divided
1 cup onion, diced
1/3 cup celery, diced
1/3 cup carrots, diced
2 bay leaves
1 3/4 cups lentils
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
salt and pepper, to taste
a few cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb fresh spinach leaves (or other greens)
5 oz soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled


Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, celery, carrots, and bay leaves.  Saute until the vegetables are golden brown.

Add the lentils and cook for about1 minute, stirring to make sure that they all get coated in the oil.  

Add the chicken broth and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Simmer until the lentils are fully cooked and almost all of the liquid has been absorbed.  This took approximately 40 minutes.

Get rid of the bay leaves, and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Heat the other tbs of olive oil in a large pan and add the minced garlic cloves.  Heat until the garlic is fragrant.  Add the spinach, or whatever green you have chosen, and heat until just wilted.  I used a mixture of arugula and baby spinach.

Plate the spinach, top it with lentils, garnish with crumbled goat cheese and serve! 

Okay obviously my atrocious photography isn't making this look like the most appetizing of dishes.  It really is, trust me!  If you don't believe me, venture on over to Just a Taste (link listed above).  Those photos will do it justice.  

I made this on Sunday, ate it for lunch then, and portioned out the rest of it to have for lunch during the week.  It is a very filling, hearty, and healthy meal.  Oh and let's not forget that it tastes really good, too!  Please enjoy!