French Lentil Stew (V)

A beautifully simple, almost humble soup with lots of flavor.

Ingredients:
cooking oil
2 yellow onions, diced
2 carrots, roughly diced (carrots don't grow in squares so don't worry about cutting them into cubes; just get them appropriately, uniformly sized. don't sweat the small stuff.
4 cloves garlic, chopped small
1 small head red cabbage, cut bite-sized
2 leeks, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Melange Classique spice blend to taste

4 Yukon gold potatoes. diced
1 bag lentils
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Heat a large saute pan over high heat then add some oil. Saute the onions for 7-8 minutes first then set aside. Then, reheating the pan and adding more oil as needed, saute the carrots, garlic, cabbage and leeks for a few minutes per batch. Season each batch lightly with salt, pepper and Melange Classique.
2. Heat a large saucepan over high heat, rinse the lentils and add them to the pan. Add enough water to cover the lentils by an inch, season the water with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook the lentils for about 12 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes and add more water to cover the lentils & potatoes by about an inch. Re-season the water to make it lightly salty. Cover and simmer for another 25 minutes or so, or until the potatoes and lentils are done.
4. Add the vegetables, adjust the level of water and seasoning if necessary, including the Melange Classique spice blend. Serve.