Recipe: Red Lentil Stew

In an attempt to be healthier and use more of my bulk bin items in a variety of recipes, I decided to make a red lentil stew recently. This spicy, flavorful stew is great for lentil or curry fans, and it’s thick and creamy so it keeps you full until dinner time.

The recipe is not, how you say, “photogenic,” but don’t let the mush fool you. After making, this became a tasty new favorite, and was invited to join our dinner rotation.

This stew can be made with or without sweet potato, but I really enjoy sweet potato in almost anything, so I had to have it. I used cumin and curry and a tad of cayenne to spice this up, but you could try garam masala, coriander, or any other spice your heart desires.

Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentils
• 4 cups veggie broth
• 1 med sweet potato, diced
• 1 med yellow onion, diced
• 5 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp curry powder
• juice from 1 lemon
• salt and pepper

Directions

Pour lentils and broth into a large pot and bring to a boil. Drop the heat down to a simmer and add the sweet potato. Let simmer for 20 minutes.

In a separate pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and cook the garlic and onion for about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and onion to the pot of lentils and add the cayenne, cumin, curry powder, lemon, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10 more minutes or until the lentils and sweet potato are soft. Some people might like this mushier than others, or spicier than others, but this ended up having the perfect amount of spice for me.

This made about six servings. It reheats very well so the leftovers make for great lunches.