We were in the mood for a vegetarian meal the other day to help warm our souls on a cold, rainy day. We also had a lot of errands to run, so we figured we’d break out the slow cooker to do most of our work. So, we broke out some lentils from the pantry and raided our vegetable drawer to make this spicy, hearty stew. We wound up using tomatoes, onions, spinach, garlic, and ginger to complement our lentils, and to finish off the flavour profile, we added Garam Masala, which added a perfect final dimension.
Time: 90 Minutes (if stovetop), 4-6 hours (if slow cooker)
Ingredients:
- Lentils
- Water (3-4x the volume of your lentils)
- Vegetable Bouillon
- Onion
- Garlic
- Fresh Ginger
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Jalapeno
- Garam Masala
Method:
- Rinse your lentils, and then pour them into your slow cooker. Then, cover with your water, and add in your boullion. Turn the heat to high, and cover. **If using stovetop, pour your lentils into a soup pot, and bring to a simmer. Then follow below instructions.
- Turn your attention to your veggies (and source of flavour):
- Dice your onions, garlic, and ginger.
- Heat some oil in a pan, and add your onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook until your onions become opaque.
- Dice your jalapeño, and add it to your onions. Sprinkle in some Garam Masala too.
- As your jalapeño cooks, cut your tomato into chunks. Then, add those to your pan, and allow them to soften and “disintegrate.”
- As your tomatoes cook, add a few handfuls of spinach to your slow cooker.
- Once your tomatoes are ready, add your veggie mixture to your slow cooker, and stir to combine.
- Allow to cook for 4-5.5 hours in slow cooker (or 60 minutes in soup pot) until your lentils have softened, and your stew is bursting with flavour.
- “Bowl,” devour, and enjoy!
