Ecuadorian Lentil Stew

 

(Picture from Keep Recipes)

My friend Julie made this for me recently.  She lived in Ecuador.  This dish is very simple and delicious! It makes great leftovers and also a great meal for take and go lunches.  Here is her recipe slightly altered.

Ingredients

• 2-3 tbs oil
• 1 red onion diced
• 1 bell pepper diced
• 3 tomatoes diced
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 3 tsp cumin
• 1 bunch chopped cilantro
• ~7 cups of water
• 1 lb lentils rinsed
• Salt/pepper to taste

Side dishes:

• Ecuadorian style rice

Instructions:

• Heat the oil on medium heat in a large sauce pan or cooking pot.
• Add the onion, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, cumin, salt,  and 2 tablespoons of the cilantro to make a refrito for the stew.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the ingredients have softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the water and increase heat to bring water to boil.
• Add the lentils and reduce the heat to medium low, cover partially and cook until the lentils are tender. Taste and add salt if needed, stir in the remaining cilantro, and remove from the heat.
• Serve with Ecuadorian style cooked rice, carne asada o carne frita (fried thin beef steaks), fried ripe plantains or fried green plantains, and a small salad or avocado slices.
  
  
  
  

  Instant Pot Directions: Saute onion, oil and spices for 5 minutes.  Add only 4 CUPS of water (not 7).  Add all other ingredients.  Pressure cook for 11 minutes.

Mulligatawny Soup

Made this again yesterday. This is a yummy Indian soup recipe. It is full of flavor due to lots of garlic, ginger, and spices!

Saute for 5 min:
4 TBS grapeseed or olive oil
1 large onion diced
Add and cook 1 minute:
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 TBS chopped fresh ginger
½ jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, chopped
1 TBS coriander
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 ½ tsp turmeric
¼ cup all purpose flour
Add and bring to boil stirring constantly:

9 cups chicken broth

Add:

2 cups red, pink (pictured) or brown lentils

-Lower heat and simmer soup covered 1 hour
-Remove from heat, and blend ½ soup until puree
Add:
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

¼ cup fresh lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

-Soup thickens as it sits. For leftovers it makes a great dip for breads.

Candice's Lentil Soup

This recipe comes from a friend who always makes something delicious!  I've altered her recipe slightly adding more garlic and celery.

 

Serves 6 -8

PrepTime: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours (6 hours on low for crockpot)

 

8 ounces/ 1 c red or brown lentils, rinsed and    drained 2 onions, finely chopped 3  large garlic cloves, finely chopped 3-4  carrots, finely chopped 4 stalks celery, diced 1 can sweet potatoes, drained, and diced 2 T olive oil 2 bay leaves

Generous pinch of dried marjoram or oregano 6 1/4 c vegetable or chicken stock 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Salt and ground black pepper to taste Celery leaves, to garnish (optional) Crusty bread rolls, to serve

 

1. Put all the ingredients except for the vinegar, seasoning and garnish in a large, heavy pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hour, stirring the soup occasionally to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom.

2. Remove the bay leaves and add the red wine vinegar, with salt and pepper to taste. If the soup is too thick, thin it with a little extra vegetable stock or water. Serve the soup in heated bowls, garnish with celery leaves. Serve with warmed crusty rolls.

 

Crockpot Version:  Throw everything into crockpot (except diced onions.  Carmelize those for 7-10 minutes with a little olive oil and then add to crockpot).  Cook on low for 6 hours.

Madras Lentils

Quick, Easy, and Delicious! This is a great healthy "from a box" meal. My Costco sells this item in bulk, but I've noticed that many stores carry Tasty Bite meals now. The Madras Lentil one is my favorite. It is mildly spicy.

Serves 4

-Warm Tasty Bite bag in boiling water. Serve over cooked brown or white rice. Garnish with fresh cilantro, or raw/toasted almonds.

Spiced Red Lentils

I'm a big lentil fan which is one reason I love Indian food! This is a recipe from Cooks Illustrated Best International Recipe Cookbook. It is simple and delicious, makes great leftovers, and is great for an on the go lunch. Note, when you buy "red lentils" they actually look more orange--then they turn yellow when cooked!

Spices:

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp cardamom

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

Lentils:

2 TBS olive oil

1 onion, diced

4 medium garlic cloved, minced

1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

4 cups water

1 1/4 cup red lentils (rinsed and picked over)

3-4 roma tomatoes, cored, sedded, and chopped into small pieces

1/2 c. fresh cilantro

salt/pepper to taste

-Combine spices and oil in medium saucepan. Heat at medium-high until spices become fragrant about 10 seconds. Add diced onion and cook 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and ginger cooking for 30 more seconds.

-Add water and lentils. Bring mixture to a boil then simmer uncovered 20-25 minutes until tender stirring occasionally. Stir in diced tomatoes, cilantro, and salt/pepper to taste. Serve over white basmati rice (which you can cook with some cumin and anise seeds)

-For a creamier twist on the recipe you can aslo substitute one cup coconut milk in place of 1 cup water.

Lentils with Curry and Tomatoes

I love Indian food! Here's a simple and delicious recipe (it also works well using a crockpot). It is even better as leftovers :-)

In Medium Soup pan, carmelize (about 5 minutes until onions golden brown):
2 TBS olive oil
1 medium onion, diced

Add and cook 1 more minute:
2 TBS fresh ginger, chopped finely
2 tsp curry powder (red or yellow)
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp cayenne

Add and simmer 15 minutes:
1 jar (about 24 oz) quality tomato sauce (I like Classico or Bertolli's)
1/2 cup water
2 cups cooked lentils
2 TBS fresh lime juice
1/2 cup cream (optional---but I prefer it with a little cream!)
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into small pieces (again optional, but I like the additional veggies)
salt to taste
Before serving Add:
1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Serve with Basmati Rice
Garmish with slivered almonds and fresh cilantro.

Herbed Lentils and Rice

This recipe is SUPER EASY and HEALTHY and DELICIOUS! The only catch is you need to make sure you plan on making it early enough to allow for the longer baking time. For my family we eat this with a green salad and steamed veggies.

3 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth (bouillon works fine too)
3/4 cup dried lentils
1/2 cup brown rice, uncooked
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp Garlic and Herb Seasoning (or Garlic powder)
1/8 tsp salt
chopped celery and carrots (optional)
1/2 cup grated Swiss Cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. In a 9x 13 casserole pan, combine all ingredients (except the swiss cheese). Cover with foil and Bake covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring once. Remove from oven, top with swiss cheese (if you want) and serve.