My slow cooker lives in an awkward cabinet above the refrigerator. I have to climb up on a dining chair to hoist it down. It’s as if I am doing my best not to use it, which is ridiculous.

I blame our nearly 13 year old kitchen. Not only is it in dire need of reorganization, it could use a full-fledged renovation. Stay-tuned. As a result, the slow cooker’s inconvenient location means it doesn’t get as much attention as it should.

Every time I do use it, I am reminded of just how great a small appliance, the mighty slow cooker is. From entrees to soups to stews, it’s a really versatile, time-saving device. I get why people are obsessed.

Whenever I pull my slow cooker out to make a warm hearty meal, the result is always big on flavor and takes little effort. There’s not much more I could ask for of a weeknight dinner.

The growing number of colder days has had me craving big bowls of soup. Instead of my usual veggie purée plus stock method of soup making, I reached for the slow cooker.

I made a batch of spicy red lentil & chickpea soup that used up the last of the red lentils I had stashed in a cabinet. The soup had a good dose of heat thanks to a generous amount of smoked paprika and red pepper flakes.

It’s always a win-win to find a soup that’s temperature hot and spicy hot with a healthy kick because each bite is double the warmth.

The soup had chunks of butternut squash and dice tomatoes. I finished off each bowl with a sprinkle of chopped parsley.

Soup in the slow cooker was so simple that I am feeling motivated to stake out space for this gadget on a lower shelf in the kitchen.

Spicy Red Lentil & Chickpea Soup

• Prep Time: 10 minues
• Cook Time: 6 hours
• Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4–6 1x

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 white onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
10 ounces peeled butternut squash, cubed
3/4 cup red lentils
1-15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1-14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cups water
3 cups vegetable stock
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the onions until they start to soften, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Transfer the onion mixture to a slow cooker. Add the squash, lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, water and stock. Cook on low for 6 hours. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Notes

Adapted from Slow Cooker by The Australian Women’s Weekly

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