The Butterfly:JoanneSmith:
can you tell me more about how u made your stew?
My soups and stews are like snowflakes-no two are alike. XD
It's time to make a grocery order so this was a largely made from the freezer stew for me. I had saved a lot of odds and ends when I cleaned and chopped veggies, nothing gross, just the tougher bits and clean ends I would normally toss. I had a bunch of cleaned, trimmed kale stems this time in the bag, some hard cores of tomatoes, onion and green onion bits, that kind of thing. I keep them in a ziplock bag in the freezer to make veggie broth for soups, rice, beans, etc. My old German professor taught me this trick many years ago.
I used those to make a vegetable broth. After the broth had cooked down I strained it, added French green lentils, some cabbage and cauliflower (might as well lean into the cruciferous side of things after using a lot of kale stems in the veggie broth) I had chopped and frozen separately before, a can of petite diced tomatoes, a couple of sweet potatoes and white potatoes. Then a variety of spices and herbs. At the end I did something I rarely do with lentil stew/soup, I threw in a handful of small shell pasta. It ended up being really good, but then it's hard to screw up lentil stew/soup. :) If not for my husband, some garlic and ham or bacon would have made it even better. :D
ZeroTwo:@Schmetterling (The Butterfly) Thanx for the details - had to laugh st the snowflake reference! LOL Its the same fot me but am aleays looking for insiration! I never really thought anout keeping endbits or veggies. I do with meat, broth and bones but thats a great tip. Im gonna start that myself. :)
i have a bag of red lentils staring me in the face every time i open my cupboard. i usually throw them in chili & bean soups as a thickener, and to fortify cauliflower and potato soups. i never really make them the main star. Always behind the scenes. ( An extra!) i did make a fancy rice and lentil dish once but too long ago...
Thx again for the reply
I love red lentil soup. I don't know why it's so tasty with so few ingredients but I posted my favorite during Lent. This cooks down and make a thick stew. I add chopped red bell peppers sometimes.
Ash Wednesday Red Lentil Soup (adapted from a recipe I found in a magazine)
1 medium onion, chopped
Olive oil or butter enough to sauté onion in
1 can chopped tomatoes (14 oz)
1 ½ cups dry red lentils
1 can vegetable broth or chicken broth
3-5 handfuls of cubed carrots, potatoes, and parsnips (I substituted sweet potato for the parsnips)
¼ clove of garlic (dh is picky and I had to omit)
1 squeeze tomato paste (I used a Tablespoon of canned paste)
Salt to taste
(I added some kicky spices to it)
Lemon juice
Sour cream
Parsley
Sauté the chopped onion in butter or oil in your soup pot. Add garlic if you like. Stir in the tomatoes, 3 empty cans of water, broth and the red lentils. Sprinkle in a healthy pinch of salt. Add cubed veggies and tomato paste.
Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low heat and cook for another 20 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are soft. Serving options include a squeeze of lemon juice, parsley, and/or sour cream.
