Based on comments here, I made some substitutions and I think this is the best lentil soup I've had in a long time. I added another 2 carrots, I doubled all the spices. I added 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes, I bought a can of 28oz. crushed tomatoes. I added the 14.5 oz. that the recipe called for, then used the rest mixed with 4 cups of broth and water to make the 8 cups of "water". I used 1 cup brown and 1 cup red lentils, I used 3 T. of lemon juice instead of vinegar, and I added about 3 Tablespoons of port. I guess that's a lot of changes, but trust me, people can't stop eating it. It's really great.

This is a phenomenal recipe. Having lived in Spain and enjoyed true lentil soup, I thought I'd never again appreciate an american version. Boy was I wrong. My adaptations to this great recipe include: 4 carrots, 2 bay leaves, 4 garlic cloves, 8 cups chicken broth instead of water. In the last 30 minutes I add 4 cups spinach, three potatos, and smoked sausage. I blend half and then add back for a really nice texture. This is served great with parmesean cheese and garlic/ mozerella bread.

This is great lentil soup. My husband said that it was better than any he had had. I added extra garlic and spinach and omitted the olive oil to cut fat. Also, have tried wine vinegar and balsamic, balsamic is best. Very "meaty" and tasty, I would definitely recommend.

This soup is the bizzomb. My family ate this up like vultures on a carcass. The only thing I added was the four beers that I drank while cooking.

This lentil soup is excellent! Definately one of the best I have found, although I did have to make some changes to suit my tastes. I used 4 garlic cloves instead of 2, added 1 teaspoon each of cumin and curry powder and used 2 cups chicken broth and 6 cups water. Turned out very good and flavorful. I also did not see any reason to use so much oil, so I cut that back to 1 tablespoon and that was plenty to saute the vegetables. The addition of spinach is wonderful and the use of balsamic vinegar really makes a differance. Wonderful soup recipe that I will keep on using!

This is my second review of this recipe (after making my third batch of soup). I neglected to mention in my first review that I used Stewed Tomatoes (more flavor). Because of this, I did not add salt. Also, I used 1/2 of a frozen package of spinach. I saved the rest for another batch. We served the last batch over thin spaghetti and found it to be a complete, filling lunch/dinner. Also, sprinkling with parmesan cheese as noted in other reviews was very good. I notice that my first review got eliminated. The point I made there was to use Herb Ox Low Sodiumn Powder Bouillon rather than the regular bouillon (5 grams of sodiuim as opposed to over 1000). I also put in a couple of dashes of hot chili sauce for a little extra flavor and oomph!!! Also, I have a Vita Mix and chopped all of the vegetables in it -- quite a time saver.

Very good. I did decrease the oil to 1 tblsp. and added about 1/2 tsp. cumin. It made about 10 cups of soup. Weight Watchers: (with 1 tblsp. oil) this works out to be 2.5 points per cup in my calculations.

I made this recipe and scaled it for 42 since it was going to be a main dish for our school's teacherstaff appreciation lunch. I used stewed tomatoes and vegetable broth which made it vegetarian so those teachers and staff who are vegetarians could enjoy it too. It was well liked, (I loved it!) although I noticed something a few days later. With the leftovers, the spinach was quite yucky and the color became uniform, so it did not look as appealing. I thought it still tasted good, although the flavors all blended a little too much by then making it less flavorful. But if I was making it again and knew ahead of time there would be leftovers I would simply take out the extra BEFORE adding the spinach and fridge it.

this soup is going to be a staple in my winter kitchen. i added my own variations, incorporating some of the other suggestions: two jalapenos diced (some seeds,) two zucchini diced, 4 cloves garlic minced, vegetable stock, 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (not 15 oz), tablespoon of ginger (store bought grated), balsamic vinegar (not white), & i pureed half of the recipe in a blender to thicken it up a bit. YUM!

How anyone could give this a high rating is a mystery to me. I followed the recipe completely, and it had almost no flavor--kind of like highly diluted salt-free ketchup. I added a scoop of beef Better than Bouillon, which helped a little. A bunch of seasoned croutons on top made it edible but still not good. My wife and I managed to eat one bowl apiece.