Moroccan Curried Lentil Soup

One of my favorite things about living where we do is the weekly farmers market and the fresh vegetable stands. Since moving here, we have had raw milk cheese, fresh green beans and potatoes, to die for peaches, my favorite flat leaf kale (which is unavailable at any grocery store here), range fed chicken, and grass fed beef. I love eating healthy (not all the time of course) and I love the idea of purchasing most of our food from locally grown and raised sources. Both because I like the idea of supporting local farmers, and because most of them use little or no pesticides in their growing process. However, this is a very expensive way to eat and my frugal side just can't justify it. I do not want to have to have only the best and I don't want healthy eating to become an idol, so I'm looking for what that balance is. I haven't found it yet, but in the search, and in trying to justify spending $2.69 a pound for free range whole chicken, I have been looking for yummy but nourishing meat free meals to have several times throughout the month. I have this theory that it would be better for us to eat less meat and have that meat be good quality, than to eat meat at every meal. So, all that rambling to say that I discovered a delicious and frugal lentil soup recipe yesterday and thought I'd share it. It came from the Schwarzbein Principle Cookbook, but I did lot of tweaking, so I'm sharing my tweaked version. It's a little bit spicy with hints of fresh ginger and cilantro.

I didn't feel like a salad last night, so instead I chopped up some fresh spinach and stirred it into my soup. It was delicious!

Moroccan Curried Lentil Soup
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large red onion, diced
2 minced garlic cloves
2 stalks celery diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 zucchini diced
3-4 teaspoons cumin
3-4 teaspoons curry powder - this depends on the hotness of your curry and how spicy you want your soup
2 cups dry lentils
8 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced - this is a key flavor, so dried ginger just won't work
1 cup medium salsa
1/2 - 2/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 1/2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoons salt (omit if using canned broth with salt in it)

In a large soup pot, heat butter until melted. Add onion, garlic, and celery and saute until softened. Add carrots, zucchini, cumin, curry powder, and salt and saute another five minutes. Add the lentils, chicken broth, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let cook over low to medium heat for 40 minutes or until lentils are tender. Add ginger, salsa, cilantro, and pepper. Stir to incorporate the flavors and then add lemon juice. Let stand 5 minutes and then taste and adjust seasonings as desired. This soup is delicious served with buttered whole wheat toast (recipe for that coming soon).