Puy lentil and spinach soup

Name: Puy lentil and spinach soup
Cuisine: European, British
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive or rapeseed oil; 3 shallots, or 1 onion, finely chopped; 1 carrot, finely chopped; A few sprigs of thyme, leaves only, roughly chopped; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 3 tomatoes, cored, deseeded and diced; 150g Puy lentils, rinsed; 1.3 litres vegetable stock; A small bunch of parsley, finely chopped; 100g baby spinach; Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; To serve; 1–2 tablespoons extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil; Parmesan, hard goat’s cheese or other well-flavoured hard cheese (optional)