Luverly lentil stew.

Silence Dogood here. Cold weather makes me crave a rich, warming lentil stew. So I made one up for our Friday Night Supper Club, and it turned out so well  that some people (who shall remain nameless) went back for third helpings, and everybody demanded the recipe. Since I had to write it down for them, I thought I’d share it with all of you, too. It makes a flavorful, satisfying, and inexpensive meatless meal, served with hot-from-the-oven bread and a salad or over pasta or rice. And, like meatless chili, refried beans, and black bean soup, it keeps beautifully in the fridge, so you can serve it for dinner, then store the rest for lunch or dinner later in the week.

While the stew thickened, I made up a batch of my baked caramel apples for dessert. (If you missed the recipe for this super-easy, delicious dessert, see our earlier post “An early Christmas present.”)

Let me say a word about the spicing and flavorings that I put in this lentil stew. Some of them may strike you as odd or even downright bizarre. Trust me here: You’ll be very pleasantly surprised! I should also point out that your spicing options are very broad with a lentil stew (or any dried legume dish). I could have added a little cinnamon, but I didn’t simply because I’d made Mexican Night for our friend Ben on Thursday night and I always put both cinnamon and cloves in my refried beans. Much as I love cinnamon, I didn’t want to taste it two nights in a row! And I might have added curry powder and/or garam masala, but I refrained because I know our friends Carolyn and Gary aren’t too taken with Indian food. All of which is to say that you should feel free to experiment and to use what you have! My lentil stew is different every time I make it, and it’s always good. Go for it!

Now for that recipe:

           Silence’s Luverly Lentil Stew

extra-virgin olive oil

2 large onions, diced

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups dried green lentils or more to taste

4 large carrots, sliced, slices quartered

9 new potatoes, sliced, slices quartered

large box vegetable stock (any brand)

half a large bottle tomato juice or more to taste

dried basil

dried oregano

hot sauce (we like Pickapeppa)

Trocamare, Herbamare, or salt (we like Real Salt)

whole cumin seeds

whole black mustardseeds

ground fenugreek

handful of raisins (about 1/4 cup)

1/4 jar mango chutney (I happened to have an almost-empty jar of mango chutney in the fridge last night; otherwise, I might have opted for orange marmalade, ginger preserves, or even apple jelly)

shredded Swiss cheese for topping

Pour a generous amount of olive oil in the bottom af a large, heavy stock pot or Dutch oven. (I love my enamelled cast-iron LeCreuset Dutch ovens, and used my largest one for this.) Saute the onion, garlic, spices, and hot sauce in the olive oil until the onion clarifies, adding a little veggie stock if needed to prevent sticking. Lentils can take a lot of spicing and I use a very generous hand with my spices—say, a tablespoon each. Add the raisins and chutney (or marmalade or whatever). The purpose of these is to add depth and richness to the stew’s flavor, and trust me, it works. Nobody will turn to you at the table and scream “There’s jelly in here!”

Rinse the lentils and add them to the pot, stirring well to mix. These are called green lentils, but they’re actually just the ordinary brownish-olive drab lentils you can buy bagged in any grocery store or in bulk at any health food store, co-op, or the like. You don’t want to use any of the small, delicate lentils in this stew! Go for the plain old everyday variety, which will hold up well to the other ingredients.

Now, add the veggie stock and tomato juice, and then fold in the carrots and potatoes. Let the stew cook for an hour or so on low to moderate heat until almost all the liquid is absorbed and the lentils, potatoes, and carrots are cooked through. You can actually make this earlier in the day and keep it perking away on the stove until supper, but if you do, keep it on low heat and add more veggie stock and/or tomato juice as needed to make sure it doesn’t completely dry out. You want a rich, thick stew, not soup, but you don’t want a dried-out, burnt-on mess! So keep an eye on it.

Serve up your lentil stew as is or over rice or macaroni, and top with a generous amount of shredded Swiss cheese. Yum! Thank heavens we were able to bring home leftovers despite those third helpings. Serves 8 to 10 (or maybe 6 if everybody keeps going back for more).

Try it, you really will like it. Promise!

          ‘Til next time,

                    Silence

About these ads