Lentil Stew

Over the weekend Larry had the smoker out. When he smokes, he SMOKES. He fills it up with all kinds of meat. One of the meats that got smoked was a pork loin. It came out so good too.

It is real easy to get stuck in a rut and make the same things over and over again, particularly side dishes. I wanted something different to go with the pork, so I decided on cooking up some lentils in a lentil stew. Once again, I used one of my recipes from my Enebla Ethiopian cookbook. I love lentils, but for some reason I don’t cook them all that often. I need to work on that. 🙂

Lentil Stew or Misir Wot

I am not quite sure why this dish is called a stew, since to me, it just seems like a normal way to cook lentils. But hey, what do I know, right?! 🙂 All I know is that they were super easy to fix and tasted great, especially with the smoked pork.

1 cup red lentils

enough water to cover the lentils by at least 2 inches + 1 cup water

1 yellow onion, diced fine

1 TBSP garlic

3 TBSP Berbere spice

2/3 cup olive oil

salt to taste

Add the lentils and enough water to cover them by about 2 inches into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes. Leave the lentils slightly al dente.

Saute the onions, garlic, salt and Berbere spice together in a large skillet for about 3-5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.

Add the cooked lentils and 1 cup of water and mix together thoroughly. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring often.

Lentils are full of protein, so if you want a light or vegetarian/vegan meal, you can eat these as is. Or, you can make them as part of a meal, as a side dish like I did. Either way, they are full of flavor. They are spicy, and if you don’t like all the spice, you can either cut down on some of the Berbere spice or add turmeric instead, or a combination of the two. I also added some sauteed delicata squash, with mushrooms, red onions and garlic, topped with basil, for vegetables. I served it with a medium-full bodied red on the side to complete the meal.

Dinner was deliciously exotic. It was like a trip to Ethiopia from the comfort of my own kitchen.

I am SLOWLY working my way through all my cookbooks and recipes. Larry has told me many time in the past, I don’t have enough time to work through all of my recipes and cookbooks, yet I am always getting more cookbooks. He thinks I am obsessed with cookbooks. Maybe I am. I am trying my best to prove him wrong. But there are only the two of us, and almost everything I make ends up in multiple meals. Apparently, I have NO idea how to cut down on quantities. I am used to cooking for large amounts of people I guess and I hate running out of food. NEVER a problem in my house though. 🙂 My biggest problem in the kitchen is there are way too many great recipes and not nearly enough time to make and enjoy them all. But I am working on it. I am most definitely up to the challenge. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.