Moroccan Lentil Stew

A warm and spicy stew for a cold and rainy day. Cannot be beat.

Diet
[x] Flexitarian + Omnivore
[x] Vegetarian + Pescatarian: use veggie broth
[x] Vegan: use veggie broth
[x] Weight Maint: portion control, divide into 12 portions
[O] Keto
[x] Mediterranean
[O] Lectin Avoidance: tomato, lentils
[O] Oxalate Avoidance: spinach, tomato
[x] Purine Avoidance

Moroccanish Lentil Stew

This is a hearty, filling, protein packed lentil stew that is both sweet, spicy, a with a little heat.

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Course: Lunch

Cuisine: Moroccan

Keyword: Ethiopian Lentil Stew, Moroccan Lentil Stew

Servings:

Calories: 326kcal

Author: Patty

Equipment

Veggie Workstation (cutting board, chef knife, discard bowl, damp towel, varous containers)
Slow Cooker (8 quarts)
Measuring tools
Cast iron skillet + spatula

Ingredients

1 white onion diced
2 C carrots roast cut
4 garlic diced
2 T Olive oil
2 t cumin
2 t coriander
1 t ground turmeric
1 t cinnamon powder
1 t ground lemon pepper
6 C Chicken stock homemade
1-1/2 C water reserve to keep liquid topped
3 C chopped cauliflower
2 C dry red lentils
1 C dry yellow split peas
28 oz Pomi small diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
2 C Spinach Chopped, can use any greens
2 t Kosher salt
1/2 C Cilantro chopped
4 T lemon juice
4 T Harissa
3 Scallions Thinly sliced, white + green

Instructions

Mise en Place

Turn on the (8 quart) slow cooker to high.
Wash the veggies and herbs.
Dice onions, roast cut the carrots, dice the garlic, chop the cauliflower, chop the spinach and cilantro.
Measure out the spices and lentils.

Cook Veggies in Skillet

In a preheated cast iron pan, add oil, and saute carrots, onions, and garlic. Then once aromatic and the onions are translucent, add spices one at a time and mix well between each addition. (Depending upon the pan you use, you may need to add a bit more oil, 1-2t.)
Cook for ~5 minutes to mix the ingredients together. Scrape all the food from the skillet into the slow cooker. Then add a couple of T of broth to the hot skillet and swish with your cooking utensil to get all the spice and good stuff off the skillet and into the broth. Scrape everything into the slow cooker.

Cooking Broth

Put the rest of the broth into the slow cooker.
Add cauliflower, lentils, split peas, tomatoes and paste to the slow cooker, stir, cover and cook 6 hours on high.
Monitor the liquid and if it falls too low add more water. About 2 hours into cooking I taste the broth and add 2t salt, sometimes I will add a bit of water to keep the food covered and cooking.
At the 5 hour mark I add Harissa, salt, and spinach to cook. Taste to make sure the broth is flavorful, add more spice if needed but do so in 1/2t increments so it is not overpowering. It should be a blended flavor.
~5 minutes before serving taste and add salt, cilantro, and lemon juice. Taste again after a few minutes, and season or add more Harissa as required.

Serving

I top with a handful of thinly sliced scallions, both white and green parts.

Notes

This is a hearty lentil stew that is both sweet and somewhat spicy. If you like heat add more hot sauce at the table, some will find this dish fine the way it is while others start to pour in that hot sauce. I serve it with a few seed crackers since I do not want to up the calories any more.

There is lots of left overs when I make this dish, luckily this will freeze well.

Source: EatingWell published a Lentil Soup recipe. This became the base for what I turned into a stew, using Moroccan spices and veggies.

Nutrition