Tomato-Curry Lentil Stew

September 12, 2011 at 1:27 pm · Filed under Vegetarian Stews

From www.allrecipes.com:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dry lentils
• 1 cup water
• 5 oz stewed tomatoes
• 1/8 cup chopped onion
• 2 stalks celery, chopped, with leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

1. Combine lentils and water, bring to a boil.
2. Lower heat to simmer, add tomatoes, onion and celery. Cover and let simmer 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Add water if necessary. Add spices in the last 15 minutes to taste. Respice if necessary before serving.

I made this last night (September 13, 2011). It was really quite good, though I tweaked the recipe a bit. I had a 14.5 ounce can of stewed tomatoes and used the whole thing, then added a bit more curry to make up the difference. It was a little too much, as the stew was a bit spicier than I like, but that was cook’s error, not a problem with the recipe.

I also used a mixture of beans, since that’s what I had in the house from the days when I used to make chili a lot — not just lentils. I don’t think that makes a huge difference in taste, though.

Two things I would do differently: The recipe calls for dry beans, so I added them into the recipe as such, but then of course it took a lot more cooking to soften them up to edible than the 45 minutes the recipe states. Next time, I’ll soften them up first. Also, since I’m not vegan there’s no reason not to have some cheese! I didn’t add any this time because I wasn’t sure what the final taste would be and I didn’t know what kind of cheese would be best. My thoughts are that goat cheese would be perfect in this recipe, though feta would work if you don’t like goat (I don’t know how anyone could not, but they’re out there!).

Overall, though, the prep time was quick and easy and then you just let it sit on the burner for a while and cook. Those who have crock pots could easily turn it on in the morning and have dinner that night. I think I might invest in a little crock pot just for stews.

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