Rainy days always inspire a bowl of soup from my kitchen. This particular stew is inspired from my love of including rainbows in my food. Even better, it’s a one pot meal that’s easy to make with staple ingredients already in your pantry/fridge.
For this particular stew, the veggies I used for my colors are carrots, sweet potatoes, corn, onions, celery, and tomatoes. I also add spinach at the end sometimes, however this particular time, I was out as I used it all up for my Popeye Muffins (recipe coming soon). For the lentils, I used brown lentils but green ones also work great. I don’t recommend using the red lentils as they will fall apart easily and make the stew a bit more thicker and melt into it.
From my kitchen to yours, I hope this recipe brings comfort to your belly and heart!
Rainbow Lentil Stew Yum
Ingredients
- 1 c carrots, sliced
- 1 large sweet potato, chopped into 1″ cubes
- ½ med onion, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 2 ribs of celery, diced
- ½ c corn, fresh or frozen
- 1 14oz can black beans
- 1 c brown lentils, washed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, minced
- 2 c low sodium veggie broth
- 3 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped (1 Tbsp dried)
- 3 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped (1 Tbsp dried)
- ½ tsp asafoetida (hing)
- 1 Tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Jalapeno slices to garnish
- Lime wedges to serve on side
- Basil to garnish
Instructions
- In a heavy bottom pot, heat oil on medium flame. Add in cumin seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds start to splutter, add in cayenne pepper, coriander powder and turmeric and let bloom for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add in all of the veggies and cook for 1 minute. Add in the lentils and mix well so the spices coat it. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Finally, add in the black beans, veggie broth,thyme, oregano, salt and black pepper. Stir well. The water should cover the veggies about ½” over the top. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to med-low flame and cook covered for 25 minutes.
- Check to make sure the lentils are done. They should be al dente. If you overcook them, they’ll get mushy!
- Once the stew is done, turn off heat, ladle into bowls and garnish with jalapeños and a squeeze of fresh lime!
- Serve hot with bread and enjoy!
Notes
I used a dutch oven for this as it provides even heating while this is simmering. You don’t need a dutch oven, but a heavy bottom pot is recommended for this stew as it simmers for quite a long time. I love mine and I’ve included a link below if you’re interested in seeing what I use.
Here is the equipment I used:
