Spiced Lentils with Spinach

This is one of the best lentil recipes that I've come across so far. The flavours are very fresh and upbeat. Use lentils that don't turn to mush, and watch the cooking time to keep them firmish. The recipe calls for du Puis lentils, I used Eston which also hold their shape well (but take longer to cook).

Yields: 4 Servings, 2 if using as a main dish
Ingredients

2 tablespoon Olive oil I used water, no oil
1 large Onion finely chopped
1 large Garlic clove crushed
1/2 tablespoon Ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Ground ginger
1 cup Lentils
2 1/2 cups Chicken stock
3 1/2 ounce Baby spinach leaves I used 1 pkg chopped frozen
2 tablespoon Fresh mint
1 tablespoon Fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon Fresh parsley
1 whole Lemon juice & zest
Salt & pepper

Instructions
1. Heat the oil/water in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to brown.
2. Stir in the lentils. Pour in enough stock to cover the lentils by 1 inch (I used all the stock), and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the lentils are tender. The lentils that I used required 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, rinse the spinach leaves in several changes of cold water and shake dry. If using frozen, squeeze dry. Finely chop the mint, coriander and parsley leaves.
4. If there isn't any stock left in the pan add a little extra. Add the spinach and stir through until it just wilts. Stir in the mint, cilantro and parsley. Adjust the seasonings, adding the lemon juice and salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve, garnished with lemon rind (I just mixed the rind in before serving).

Source: 1000 Low Fat Salt, Sugar & Cholesterol Recipes