Red Lentil Soup with Balsamic Onions and the Sahale Snacks Giveaway Winner!

If I can get you to bear with me for one second, I promise you those aren’t worms on your soup (and if you weren’t seeing that then I’m sorry, get that image out of your mind!)

Balsamic onions are hard to make look pretty. But I PROMISE their taste makes up for it!

This red lentil soup is full of flavour, bursting with veggies and protein and a filling, comforting winter meal.

This is an easy win for a quick dinner or lunch that you can make a nice big pot of (as you can see I did) and keep in the fridge for the week. I like my soups a bit thicker too, and this one thickens nicely as you refrigerate it so the leftovers are even better :).

I promised you this recipe when I featured it in my What I Ate Wednesday post this week, and what I mentioned to one commenter is true – I got the original recipe from a magazine (I think it was Fitness magazine but can’t remember…) and it was a little bit bland.

I added some punches of flavour and now I think it’s a soup worthy of a meal or two. It’s also the colours that get me…I love colourful food :).

The recipe is coming up, but stick with me a bit longer as it’s time to announce the winner of the Sahale Snacks giveaway!

And the winner of one 15-oz bag of Sahale Snacks’ new Maple Pecans flavour is…

Aly J! You were chosen completely at random:

Congratulations! Email me at theguiltlesslife@gmail.com with your full name, phone number and mailing address (no PO Box please) and I’ll have your prize on its way to you asap!

Now, I promised you a recipe…

Red Lentil Soup with Balsamic Onions

INGREDIENTS (makes a big pot!):

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 celery stalk, diced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried coriander
1/2 cup brown rice
3/4 cup red lentils
6 cups vegetable stock (I use low-sodium)
1 bay leaf
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
5 cups spinach leaves
Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a Dutch oven. Add half the onion and saute for 8-10 minutes or until browned. Stir in the balsamic vinegar. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

2. Warm remaining oil in the Dutch oven. Add the rest of the onion, celery and herbs.

3. Saute till onion is cooked and then add rice and lentils. Stir for two minutes.

4. Add stock, bay leaf and tomatoes with juice. Stir and then add in garlic and cayenne pepper and bring to a boil.

5. Cover and simmer until rice and lentils are tender (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Discard bay leaf and stir in spinach.

6. Top with onions, serve (I had mine with a couple of slices of gluten-free bread and Earth Balance margarine) and enjoy!

Nutritional information per serving if serves 6: