Monday, January 23, 2012

Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes


I have been in desperate need of some changes to our meals.  We get stuck in a routine and end up having the exact same thing every week.  I spent some time going through cookbooks and came across Barefoot Contessa's Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes from her cookbook, Barefoot Contessa at Home.  I figured this would be a healthy side dish that the family would all enjoy.  It was delish and a definite comfort dish during this slightly rainy weekend.  Also, it was a fantastic dish for anyone with young children.  It was so easy for Baby Girl to eat and she loved it.  Her lunch was easy the rest of the weekend.  Here is the recipe...

Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes
(Barefoot Contessa at Home, pages 144-145)

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons good olive oil
2 cups large-diced yellow onions
2 cups large-diced carrots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (28-oz) can whole plum tomatoes
1 cup French green lentils
2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons mild curry powder
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground back pepper
1 tablespoon good red wine vinegar


Heat the oil in a large saucepan.  Add the onions and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, until the onions start to brown.  Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon.  Ad the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.


Meanwhile, place the canned plus tomatoes, including the juice, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse several times until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped.  Rinse and pick over the lentils to make sure there are no stones in the package.

Add the tomatoes, lentils, chicken broth, curry powder, thyme, salt and pepper to the pan.  Raise the heat to bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for about 40 minutes, until the lentils are tender.  Check occasionally to be sure the liquid is still simmering.  Remove from the heat and allow the lentils to sit covered for another 10 minutes.  Add the vinegar, season to taste and serve hot.


This cookbook has numerous recipes that I continue to go back to.  I would highly suggest picking it up for your kitchen.  You can find it here.


1 comments

  1. I just love everything Ina does. I have all of her cookbooks and find myself constants referring to them for easy, reliable recipes (sidebar...I also met her once at a cookbook signing, and she was as sweet as can be!)

    ReplyDelete

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