Tomato Lentil Stew Recipe

Prior to researching more about lentils, I used to think of them as an exotic legume, popular in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes that I savoured so far. Well little did I know, Canada just happens to be the largest producer of lentils in the world, followed by India and Turkey.

Why are lentils so good for you, what's the big deal you ask? Well, let's look at the nutritional information for 1 cup of lentils, boiled without salt, according to Nutritiondata.self.com:

Dietary Fibre 16g or 63% of DV (Daily Value)
Protein 18 g (your daily value depends on a variety of factors such as age, sex, weight. My daily require intake is about 46 g of protein)
Iron 37%
Folate 90%
Potassium 21%
Phosphorous 36%
Manganese 49%

For the complete nutritional breakdown, here's the link http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4338/2

Ingredients:

1/2 medium white onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 of 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (1/2 of 798 ml or 28 oz)
1 cup dried red lentils
3 cups water
1 veggie stock cube
3 kale leaves
pinch of basil
pinch oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Finely dice onions and garlic, and quickly sautee in a deep pot over medium-heat. After you see the onion becoming translucent or more see-through, add in sliced carrots (I sliced mine in rounds).

2. After a minute or two when you see the carrots be a bit more cooked giving off that yellowish hue rather than their bold orange, add in the crushed tomato, the water, the lentils and the veggie cube. Let it simmer on low medium heat for at least 10-15 minutes.

3. Try tasting the lentils to see if they're ready, if they're too crunchy that you can't chew them (akin to uncooked rice) then it needs to simmer a bit longer. Rip up the kale leaves in bite size pieces and gently stir them in the stew. Add spices and cook them in for a minute or two to flavour the stew.

4. Serve warm and garnish with your favourite green, or what you have on hand (I did basil leaves).