Lentil Stew

Name: Lentil Stew
Ingredients: 500 grams lean minced beef (can be left out for a vegetarian option); 250 grams black good quality lentils, such as Beluga lentils or Le Puy; 2 cups (or cans) of chopped tomatoes; 1-2 tablespoons tomato puree; 1 chopped fresh chilli; 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optionally); 3 cloves of chopped garlic; 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon salt; 500 milliliters water (or leftover red wine, and yes: what is that?!)

10 ingredients

2 steps

Ingredients

500 grams lean minced beef (can be left out for a vegetarian option)
250 grams black good quality lentils, such as Beluga lentils or Le Puy
2 cups (or cans) of chopped tomatoes
1-2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 chopped fresh chilli
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optionally)
3 cloves of chopped garlic
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
500 milliliters water (or leftover red wine, and yes: what is that?!)

Directions

1

Start of with browning the minced meat thoroughly in a dry pan. I really like to take the time for this (around 10-15 minutes on high heat) and to make sure the meat gets as much colour as possible, as this enhances the flavors immensely. In case the meat releases a lot of fat, I take the effort to spoon this out of the pan and to discard it.
2

After that, or in case you don't use any meet, I add the tomato puree, the garlic, the chili and the herbs. I shortly let this sweat to release its flavours and then add all the other ingredients. Let it simmer for around an hour until the lentils are cooked through. If you use good quality lentils, you will notice that they don't fall apart but have a really nice structure to them.