Finely dice 1 small onion, finely chop 1 green bell pepper, finely chop 1 peeled carrot, roughly chop 4 cloves garlic and finely grate 2 tomatoes to end up with ½ cup (115 grams) tomato sauce

Heat a stock pot with a medium heat and add in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

After 2 minutes add in the onion, green bell pepper, carrot and garlic, mix with the olive oil continuously, after 5 minutes and the onion is translucent, add in 1 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika, quickly mix together, then add in the tomato sauce, mix together and simmer

When the tomato sauce has thickened, about 3 minutes, add in 1 cup dried brown lentils (rinsed under cold water beforehand), mix together, then add in between 7 to 8 cups of vegetable broth, add in a bay leaf, mix together and raise the heat to a high heat

When the broth comes to a boil, place a lid on the stock pot and lower to a low heat, cook until the lentils are done, check package instructions

Once the lentils are cooked through (30 minutes in my case), remove the lid (If the soup looks to dry, add in more broth at this point), then add in ½ cup Spanish round rice, give it a mix and place the lid back on the stock pot, cook until rice is fully cooked through, again, check package instructions, once the rice is cooked (18 minutes in my case), remove the lid, add in 2 cups fresh bagged spinach and season with sea salt & black pepper, gently mix together until spinach is just wilted, remove from the heat

Transfer into shallow bowls and serve at once, enjoy!