Ham and Lentil Stew

lauralie41's Note:

I found this recipe when joining a crockpot recipe group on yahoo. Have not made this yet but it sounds very good especially with the addition of the spinach. A great idea for those cold winter days!

• Total Time: 4 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 3 cups ham , diced
• 2 cups dried lentils
• 2 cups carrots , diced
• 2 cups celery , diced
• 1 cup onion , chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic , minced
• 4 cups water
• 2 (10 ½ ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 (6 ounce) bag baby spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• lemon slice , garnish

Directions:

1. In a 3 1/2-quart or larger crock pot mix all the ingredients together, except the spinach and lemon juice.
2. Cover pot and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low for 7 to 9 hours or until lentils are tender.
3. Add spinach and stir, cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender.
4. Stir in lemon juice, mix well, and serve.

Reviews

[Redox]

This was pretty decent; a bit bland for our tastes but easily fixable. My wife and I ate it the first night after following the recipe precisely, save for cutting the amount of spinach. The flavor improves as do many soups after a night in the 'fridge. It's amazing how much a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes improved the flavor. I also added Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and at the very end, additional salt to taste. I'm sorry I didn't measure the additions or I'd include them for anyone who'd want them. Next time I'll quantify the additions for anyone who might find them helpful. The 4 stars is for the recipe as written, with the the changes, I'd give it 5 stars. Of course, everyone perceives tastes differently and I'm sure others would prefer the recipe as written. Thanks for posting this.

[Flaca]

Excellent & easy! I used a meaty ham bone that was left over/frozen from our Easter dinner. Took 4 hours in the crock pot. Our family eats of lot of lentil beans - our toddler daughter loves them - so this was nice change up on my usual lentil bean soup. I did add half a tablespoon of ginger paste (we liked spice!) and it didn't overwhelm the dish at all. I'm Mexican so we use lemon as a garnish to a lot of our soups/stews - so here it was a welcomed garnish to the soup. It was tasty, flavorful & warm on one of the last rainy nights in a Southern CA spring! Thanks for sharing!

[Larry in DC]

Good way to use some leftover ham. If I made it again, I'd spice it up a little with the suggestions below (which I should have read BEFORE I made it).