Bountiful Quinoa-Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 medium DOLE® Yellow Onions, chopped
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) DOLE® Mushrooms, sliced
• 8 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• ½ small bunch DOLE® Celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons ras el hanout seasoning
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cans (28 ounce each) no salt added diced tomatoes in juice
• 1¾ cups dry brown and/or green lentils
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 Triple Quinoa & Kale Salad recipes    

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onions and cook 3 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms, garlic, celery, ras el hanout and salt; cook 5 minutes or until fragrant and vegetables begin to brown, stirring occasionally.
2. Transfer onion mixture to 5- to 6-quart slow cooker; stir in tomatoes, lentils, thyme and 8 cups water. Cover; cook on high 4 hours (or low 8 hours) or until lentils are tender.
3. Stir in salad; cook 10 minutes or until greens are tender. Makes about 19 cups.

Tips & tricks

To make ras el hanout seasoning, toast 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon each coriander seeds and allspice berries, and ¼ teaspoon whole cloves in a dry skillet over medium-low heat 3 minutes or until fragrant. Pulse spice mixture in a blender or spice grinder to a coarse powder. Transfer to a medium bowl; stir in 1 teaspoon each sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon each gluten free ground cinnamon and gluten free ground red pepper. Makes about ¼ cup. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 6 months.