Filling Green Lentil and Mushroom Stew
Craving comfort? This filling mushroom green lentil stew is simmered until thick and swirled with creamy tahini and roasted red peppers. A nourishing one pot vegan dinner ready in 45 minutes!
Equipment
- immersion blender or bullet blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion cut in half and sliced into thin half moons
- ½ pound mushrooms sliced
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 5 cups water no BTB? Omit and swap water for your favourite veggie broth
- 4 teaspoons Better than Bouillon Vegetarian "Chicken" or a gluten free bouillon concentrate if needed
- 1 teaspoon paprika I use sweet, but you could also use smoked!
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup dry green lentils French, standard green or brown is fine. Rinse well before using!
- 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers patted dry, see tip below
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar can sub red wine or apple cider vinegar in a pinch
For serving, optional
- curly or flat leaf parsley minced, I like a lot!
- bread, rice or mashed potatoes
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the onion in oil on medium heat until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Then, add in the sliced mushrooms and cook until they start to brown and release their water, about 10 minutes. Try not to disturb them too much - just stir occasionally to make sure they are evenly browned.
- Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Add the garlic, stirring constantly for a minute, then add the water and bouillon concentrate (or stock), cumin, and paprika and bring to a boil on high heat.
- Add the dry lentils, let boil for 1 minute, then reduce heat to medium and cook, partially covered, until lentils are tender and the stew is thickened, about 18-25 minutes. Stir occasionally, you want the mixture bubbling, and if the stew is getting too thick before the lentils are cooked, add ½ cup water at a time.
- Meanwhile, place red peppers, tahini and vinegar in a bullet blender or wide mouthed blending jar to use an immersion blender. Then blend until smooth, set aside.
- When the stew is gravy-like in texture (if you need to, let cook with the lid off for a while) and lentils are tender, add ¼ cup of the hot stew to the pepper mixture, stir to temper and then add the mixture back into the stew, stirring until well combined.
- Serve with a generous sprinkle of minced parsley, bread, rice or mashed potatoes!
Notes
There is a big variation in the flavour of roasted red peppers. Some are quite vinegar-y, but mine are not. Try to choose a brand that has water as the first (non pepper) ingredient and taste any new brands to assess acidity.
If they're quite vinegar-y, rinse them well and pat dry and you may want to omit the vinegar from the recipe. Accidentally made the stew too tart? A teaspoon of sugar will help balance it out.