Spiced Lentil Sweet Potato Soup

I made soup for band practice...totally improvised, as my soups tend to be...but this one was so good I have to document it! My aim was a lentil soup with sweet potatoes and warm (Moroccanish?) spices. It's vegan, GF and all that stuff. I did not measure anything so the spices etc are my best guess! This makes a huge pot - my Dutch oven was almost overflowing!

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, minced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 small can tomato paste
1 can petite diced tomatoes
2 boxes vegetable stock
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
2 sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed small
2 bay leaves
minced cilantro
lemon juice
1 bag baby spinach

Heat olive oil in a large pot and saute onion, carrot & celery until softened. Season with salt. Add garlic & ginger, cook briefly, then add spices & stir.

Add tomato paste and cook about a minute. Add canned tomatoes, stock, lentils, sweet potatoes & bay leaves. Simmer covered for about 30 minutes, until lentils & sweet potatoes are tender. Taste for salt - you will probably need a good amount if using low-sodium stock. Remove bay leaves.

Puree some of the soup with an immersion blender (optional, but gives it a nice texture). Add cilantro, a squeeze of lemon juice, and spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted.