Lentil Stew

By Babycatgrandma

Great healthy stew to make for leftovers!

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb / 227 g lean meat (ideally organic and pastured) and/or mushrooms
• 1 Tbsp. / 14 ml plus as needed olive oil for sautéing
• 1/2 pound /227 g lentils
• 1 large onion (total 5 oz / 150 g) coarsely chopped
• 2 large carrots (total 5 oz / 150 g) coarsely chopped
• 1 large potato (total 13 oz / 370 g scrubbed and chopped
• 3 cloves fresh garlic (optional, to taste) finely chopped
• 1 tsp. / 2 g smoked paprika
• 3 cups / 720 ml natural chicken or vegetable broth/stock or water (more as desired)
• Herbs: parsley, thyme, and/or bay leaves, red pepper (optional, to taste or garnish)
• Seasoning: good olive oil, red or black pepper, curry powder, red wine or apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice all contribute their own flavors and benefits.

Preparation

Step 1

Sort through the lentils to remove any stones or other debris.

Put the lentils in a pot and cover with water to rinse. Swirl them around, then drain off the water.
Set aside a little (about 1 cup) of your stock. Pour all your remaining stock or cooking water over the lentils and set the pot on high heat. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer.
If you are adding dried herbs, do so now (fresh herbs should be added about five minutes before serving).

Chop the meat and/or quarter the mushrooms.

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the meat and/or mushrooms with the paprika, then transfer the meat or mushrooms to the lentil pot with a slotted spoon. Do not drain the rendered fat from the frying pan.

Brown carrots, onions and garlic in the reserved seasoned fat or oil, taking care not to scorch the garlic, and add to the lentil pot.

Brown the potatoes in what remains of the sautéing fat/oil. If you need to, you may add a little extra oil to keep them from sticking.

Add the potatoes to the lentil pot, and pour off any excess oil from your pan.

While the frying pan is still hot, add the reserved stock or cooking water to it and scrape up the browned bits with your spatula. When the pan is deglazed, add all that liquid to the lentil pot.
Turn up the heat under the lentil pot and keep at a high simmer until all the vegetables are tender. If you need to add more water or stock for a desired thickness, do so.

Turn off the heat and let the stew stand for about five minutes: now is the time to add fresh herbs, if you are using them.

If desired, a drizzle of olive oil, spritz of vinegar or lemon juice, or sprinkle of pepper and/or curry can be added to individual bowls after serving. That way, leftovers can be seasoned differently.

You can exchange the potatoes for brown rice. You can add turnips or rutabagas or celery or all at once, more potatoes, carrots, onions, and more meat if you have them. It’s easy to get carried away and make a very large pot of food for very little money. If you do that, make sure you divide the leftovers and freeze them so they don’t go bad.

You may wish to accompany this stew with a slice of whole grain bread (1-oz/ 28-g slice = 1 carb exchange) and butter (1 tsp. / 5 g = 1 fat exchange) or a green salad (1 cup / 80 g = 1 vegetable exchange). A piece of fruit makes an excellent dessert (1 piece = 1 fruit exchange). A glass of red wine (4 fluid oz / 120 ml = 1 fat+1 carb exchange) makes it very special—in that case, deglaze your saucepan with a little wine instead of stock, to match the flavors.

Exchanges per Serving: 2 Carb, 2 Protein, 0 Fat
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty Rating: 2
Health Level: 5
Serving Size: 1 cup / 240 ml
Serves: 6