Hello friends,
How are you?
I must admit I am buried under a deep pile of cooking/writing block. I spent a good 10 days trying to come up with something delicious, exciting, innovative, different, but frankly, I couldn’t. I did, however, cook the nice lentils below.
I do cook a lot of pulses when I just don’t know what to cook anymore. Red lentils break down to give you a thick, satisfying texture, like the inside of a bean (if that’s not something you recognise or love, I feel for you). I do cook lots of red lentils but usually go down the spiced, coconut milk route, whereas this has a similar vibe to minestrone, which I love.
Substitution thoughts: You can use kale instead of spinach, just make sure to wilt it a little longer. You could potentially use brown lentils, though they won’t break down as much, so it will be more of a ‘sauce + lentil’ situation. You could also drop a parmesan rind into the mix before adding the passata for extra oomph. This recipe makes a generous amount (8 portions!), so while it is a great reheat meal to have in the fridge, you can easily halve it.
Red Lentil Stew with Olives & Spinach
2 onions
4 small carrots
2 red peppers
1 courgette
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable stock powder
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp dried oregano
420g red lentils
680g bottle of passata
100g olives (I used green ones)
200g spinach
Finely dice the onions, then heat a generous glug of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions (there should be a sizzle) and stir to coat them in oil. Cover with a lid and drop to the lowest temperature.
While the onions begin to soften, peel and finely dice the carrots. Add them to the pot, stir and cover.
Cut the peppers into quarters, then slice across into thin strips. Again, add to the pot, stir, cover.
Cut the courgette into small cubes - I do this by cutting it in half crosswise, then slicing each half into 1cm or so slabs, then into sticks and finally into cubes. Add to the pot, stir, cover and let everything soften for another 5min.
Mince or grate the garlic. Remove the lid from the pot - everything should be soft, but the peppers and courgette should still have some bite. Raise the temperature to medium, add the garlic, and cook for 1-2min.
Add the vinegar, stir through well, and cook for a few minutes until it has almost evaporated.
Add the herbs, stock powder, a good pinch of salt, and lentils, and stir well to coat everything evenly.
Add the passata and stir. Fill the bottle up to the top with cold water, then add to the pan, then fill it again halfway and add this too.
Give everything a good stir and allow it to come up to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for approx. 25min, stirring frequently to prevent the lentils sticking to the bottom, until the lentils have absorbed most of the liquid and are soft.
In the meantime, roughly chop the olives. This is also a great time to clean up, or just scroll while you wait.
Once the lentils are ready, drop the temperature to low. Stir in the olives.
Add the spinach and stir through, then cover with the lid and allow to wilt in the heat of the pan for 1-2min.
Turn off the heat. Taste and season with salt and black pepper.
Serve as is, or top with toasted pine nuts/ some grated parmesan/ some zingy, spicy, young olive oil. Maybe some anchovies?
Here’s to a more fruitful coming week, eh?
Mia