Vegetarian Memoirs: Ethiopian-Inspired Lentil Stew

I tried this tonight, and it is DELICIOUS.

The spices really make this, so try not to leave too many out. Red lentils have become my new favorite protein source, but you could use regular ones and this would be just as tasty. My official review of this is a 5 out of 5 because it was a one pot meal, it was full of flavor, and it was low in fat. I added carrots because I had some from the organic produce store, and I thought they would be good. They were. If you don’t like any of the vegetables, you could probably substitute ones you like and it wouldn’t matter much. The spices and the lentils are really where it’s at. If you do use regular lentils, I might use less than this recipe calls for. This recipe comes from The Fat Free Vegan blog. She is from Mississippi (a definite plus, although I sometimes don’t know where she finds all of her ingredients down there!), and most of the stuff I have tried has turned out pretty good…with a few additions on my part, mostly in salt, oil, or other flavor additions. Also, she calls it soup. It was pretty thick, and I like it that way, so I’m going with “stew.”

(I’ve italicized my changes to the side of the ingredient)

Ethiopian-Inspired Red Lentil Soup

1 large onion, chopped
1 pound potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 + 1/4 cup red lentils (picked over and rinsed)
3 cups water
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 tablespoons berberé spice mixture, below
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (I keep forgetting to get these at the store, so I just used about 1/2 of a a big thing of tomato paste)
1 pound green beans, fresh or frozen, cut into bite-sized pieces (I only had canned so I drained them and added to the mix)
1-2 cups water
salt to taste
3-4 cups fresh spinach (I didn’t have this, so I chopped 3 carrots. I suspect the fresh spinach is really good, though)

Berberé Spice Mixture (mix all together and store in jar):
*I just added a pinch or two of each of these since I wasn’t sure if I would like the mixture.
1 Tbs. ground cardamom
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1 Tbs. fenugreek
1 Tbs. ground nutmeg
1 Tbs. ground cloves
1 Tbs. ground allspice
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 Tbs. paprika
1 Tbs. turmeric
1 tsp. cayenne (use more to taste)
1 Tbs. ground black pepper
1 Tbs. ground sea salt (optional) (I probably added more, but I never really measure salt. I just eyeball it)

Sauté the onion in a non-stick pan until it starts to brown. Add the potatoes, lentils, 3 cups water, garlic, and spice mixture. Simmer, covered, over low heat until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes, green beans, and enough additional water to create a thick soup. Check the seasoning, adding salt and more of the spice mixture if needed, and cook for about 15 more minutes. Just before serving, stir in the spinach. Serve immediately. Makes 6-8 servings.