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Crockpot Lentils and Escarole Soup

Crockpot Lentils and Escarole Soup

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I’m not sure about you, but after 6 colds, 4 snow storms, and 2 polar vortexes’ later, I can officially say “I AM DONE WITH WINTER!”


Oh, and in case you didn’t know, good ol’ Phil called for another 6 weeks of winter. Thanks a lot, Phil!

I sincerely hope he is in some kind of   under-ground hog protection program by spring. I’m pretty sure some frozen New Yorkers might be looking for him once they thaw out!

In case I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m not a huge fan of the cold. I love living in New York, but I could do without below freezing wind chills, and pretty much any form of frozen precipitation that occurs after December 25th.   Crockpot Lentils

Even though I desperately miss spring/summer, I did find one good thing about this winter – using my crockpot. I have been busy cooking and experimenting with some traditional comfort foods using it. One of the dishes I’ve been testing is Lentils. I was skeptical with this dish at first because lentils are delicate. If you boil them to rapidly they split apart.  Cook them too long and they get too soft. Personally, I have made both these mistakes before. The first time I made them in the slow cooker, I was so pleased to see that they actually cooked to perfection.

Crockpot Lentils 4

I’ve done this several times now and  gotten the same results.  The one disclaimer I will make, however, is that I use Italian Lentils. They are a touch smaller than other lentils. You might need to adjust cooking time with larger lentils.lentils

In this recipe I added one of my favorites – escarole.  You could also use spinach. Whichever you choose, I definitely would not add the greens until the final hour of cooking .

Crockpot Lentils 2

I just Love how this dish comes out. The thing I love most about this is the “set it and forget it” concept for those busy days. Whether you give your favorite lentil recipe a try or use mine below, cook them in the crockpot and let me know what you think.

Slow Cooker Lentil Soup

Crockpot Lentils with Escarolee

Slow cooked lentils with escarole
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup lentils*
  • 5 cups water - more if needed chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1-2 bay leaves
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 bouillon cube **
  • Salt and pepper to taste *
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoon tablespoons of olve oil + 1divided
  • 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes with juice
  • 4 cups of chopped escarole***

Instructions
 

  • Rinse and pick through lentils.
  • Add lentils onion, 3 cloves crushed garlic, diced tomatoes, bouillon and bay leaf to crockpot with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
  • Put crockpot on low for 7 hours.
  • Saute escarole in a pan with 1 crushed garlic clove and remaining olive oil for aprox. 3-4 mins. Gently season with salt and pepper if desired.
  • Put escarole in the crockpot, cover and cook on high for another hour or until done.

Notes

*This recipe was tested with Italian lentils which are smaller in size.
**If you use Chicken stock you will not need to use the bouillon.
***You can substitute spinach for escarole.
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