Basic Lentil Stew

Loaded with plant - based protein, dietary fiber, and with low glycemic index, versatile, cheap, tasty, nourishing - this stew has a lot going for it. This is a stew that will keep a tummy feeling full for many hours while providing a steady stream of energy for both physical and mental activities.

It's worth noting that increasing the uptake of dietary fiber initially usually is accompanied with various gastro-intestinal symptoms for tummies that aren't used to it. It all boils down to having a balance of good bacteria in our tummies and while bacteria that breaks down fiber is considered the best one, it's also usually the scarcest ones in tummies.

Major benefit of eating this stew consistently is that it trains a tummy to be able to work with insoluble fiber better, which leads to training the tummy out of bloating, constipation, and even helping prevent hemorrhoids long term. But yeah before getting the above benefits, one is likely to experience various gastro-intestinal symptoms if more of the stew is eaten than the tummy is ready for. You've been warned!

Appliances

A convenience of an electric pressure cooker (EPC) is hard to beat when cooking legumes. However a regular pot should also do just fine, but will take a bit longer. This recipe assumes an electric pressure cooker is available.

However, a slow cooker, crock pot, dutch oven, cast iron pot, or even a regular pot will work just fine. Cooking time will need to be adjusted based on what's used.

Ingredients

This dish is great as leftovers, so ingredients are for a full EPC pot, 6 OZ. This dish lasts forever in the fridge, and because there's tomato paste, it just gets better with time!

Below is a base set of ingredients, followed by additional options to give the final dish some pizzazz:

• Green lentils 1 lb
• Diced tomatoes 1 large can (32 oz)
• Tomato paste 1 can with salt added (8 oz)
• Vegetable oil (1/2 cup)
• 6-8 cups of stock
  • Can use bouillon cubes
  • "Better than bouillon" paste works great in a pinch

To add some nice heat for those chilly days:

• Red pepper to taste (1-5 tbl spoons).
• Best to use red pepper flakes that look like ones found in a pizzeria.

To add crunch to final dish:

• After cooking is done, add fresh diced 1/2 of an onion or any crunchy veggies like bell pepper etc.

To make more soup-like:

• Should put closer to 8 cups of liquid.
• Add Red lentils (1/2 cup), they will fully dissolve into sauce

To make into a meat stew:

• Add any smoked meat
• Italian sausages work great, can cook from frozen in EPC.

Cooking in an EPC

1. Wash green lentils in clean water until water rinses clean
2. Add vegetable oil
3. If adding some heat, spicy oil works great:
   • Can use whole red pepper flakes but best to grind to powder right before use. If using other spices, mix all together before putting in oil.
   • Heat oil (sautee medium EPC) until EPC comes to temperature.
   • Get diced tomatoes ready to go (ex. open the can)
   • optional: Crush Red Pepper to powder while oil is heating up
   • Add Red Pepper
   • Slowly mix until oil gets a bit of red color from red pepper (5-10 secs, no more! If oil is cooked for much longer, end dish won't be spicy)
   • Add diced tomatoes to immediately to stop red pepper from cooking any longer. That's it!
4. Add any remaining ingredients
5. Close EPC lid + set to pressure cook for 20 mins on high
6. If using, dice onion + crunchy veggies and add after EPC is finished, or can serve as a side.
7. Once EPC is ready, release steam
8. Enjoy!