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lentils

Brown Lentils Recipe (old version)

I adore lentils and this brown lentils recipe is easy to make as well as extremely tasty.
3.50 from 2 votes
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Course: Main
Keyword: brown lentils, lentils, tomato
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 6 portions
Author: Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal

Ingredients

For the vegetable stock

  • 150 g carrots in medium pieces
  • 150 g celery in medium pieces
  • 150 g brown onion in medium pieces
  • 1 bayleaf
  • 3 lt water

For the lentils

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 bayleaves
  • 200 g brown onion finely chopped
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp oregano powder
  • ½ red bell pepper peeled, deseeded and cut in small cubes
  • 2 cloves garlic minced, finely grated or pressed
  • 6 tbsp tomato paste
  • 150 ml red wine
  • 100g carrots in small cubes
  • 2 roma tomatoes extra ripe, peeled, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 250 g brown lentils I used 3mm diameter brown lentils
  • 1 lt vegetable stock
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 60 g baby spinach stalks off and chopped
Metric - US Cups

Instructions

For the vegetable stock

  • Place all the ingredients in a large pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

For the lentils

  • Soak the lentils in cold water for 1 hour. It's not absolutely necessary but it helps you to digest them.
  • Cook the onion and pepper in the olive oil over medium heat. Also add the oregano, paprika and bayleaves at this time.
  • Once the onions are cooked through and smell sweet, add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for a minute.
  • Add the red wine and let it boil down until you have no visible liquid left on the base of the pot.
  • Add the carrots and tomatoes and stir to heat up.
  • Add the lentils and stock and stir. Bring it to a light simmer and put on the lid of the pot. Don't let it boil too hard or it will make the lentils go hard. Also, don't add seasoning until the very end also to prevent them from going hard. If using a pressure cooker, cook for 30 minutes on high pressure.
  • After 30 minutes check on them, it could take up to 50min to become soft. Once they're soft remove the lid and let the contents in the pot thicken as the liquid evaporates.
  • Season with salt and pepper and add the spinach right before serving.
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