Lentil Stew
Lentil soup has all the benefits of the mighty powerfood lentils
![Lentil Soup dreamstime_9626661[1]](http://realfoodforlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Lentil-Soup-dreamstime_96266611.jpg "Lentil Soup dreamstime_9626661[1]")
plus much more. And it tastes great.
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
3-6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 pieces celery, chopped
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup green whole lentils: soak over night and cook according to directions here: Cooking Beans & Lentils
1 piece Kombu*
2 carrots, diced
3-5 tsp salt
1 tsp each of thyme and basil
3 tsp marjoram
Fresh parsley
Directions:
- Soak lentils overnight and follow instructions: Cooking Beans & Lentils (if you would like to have gas free lentils)
- Sauté onion, garlic and celery in oil.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Simmer for 45 minutes, adding more water if necessary.
- Remove Kombu and chop; return to soup.
- Serve in bowls garnished sprigs of fresh parsley.
* Kombu is seaweed makes beans more digestible but you could easily leave it out.
Copyright © Diana Herrington You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
About Diana Herrington
I am the head chef at Real Food for Life and author of the GREEN means LEAN and Balance Your Body e-books. I turned a debilitating health crisis into a passion for helping others with healthy, sugar free, gluten free eating and cooking.
14 Responses to “Lentil Stew”
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Thank you for the Lentil soup receipe! I had a friend a few years ago who used to make it but we are
unfortunately no longer in contact and I never wrote down her receipe. Thank you so much!
You are welcome Debbie, let us know how it works for you and what changes you make to it.
Diana, if you are no longer cooking the "stew" with tomatoes, what are you using for the liquid?
Patt, it starts with the water the lentils are cooked in then "adding more water if necessary"
BTW I added above: cooked with water cooked in – Not sure if that was the right way to say it.
Lentils, like all legumes benefit from a good soaking. Give the soaking water to your plants and rinse well. Be on the look out for little stones when you are cooking lentils and beans. ; French green lentils are a great substitute and double in size and volume when you soak and sprout them for a few days.; Soaked and sprouted lentils are cooked in 10 to 15 minutes. I prefer making a double portion and store ( or freeze) the left overs in glass mason jars.; Great recipe, Diana
Thank you Afke for your tips which I do too. I am still to post the "How to Cook Beans" article.
I wanted to say that I was almost 2 years without a job. After 25 years of loyal dedication to my work place , I was kicked out because of the economics.
I went down so flat with money that I had to restructure my entire daily food intake and Lentils became the no. 1 and most frequent food on our table simply because we could not afford something else and, the Lentils came into our budget and we all survived.
Still after I recovered, my entire family continued consuming Lentils….we learned to cook them in many ways. I will always be grateful to this little legume for helping me out and maintaining my whole family in excellent health !
Lentils are a go-to food for athletes also!
Did you know that you can saute onions/veggies in water? You can always add the oil for flavour at the end of the cooking cycle. The debate on fats and heat continues to rage and baffle. Animal fats , yes we are talking LARD apparently are the least damaged by high heat. I’ll have an avocado on a Hemp-flax-chia Carrot crisp for lunch. I know that these EFA’s will polish my arteries and keep my brain happy too.
So what is Kombu?
Good tip Afke, thank you!
Marie, * Kombu is seaweed makes beans more digestible but you could easily leave it out. Thank you for your question because now I added a link above where you can read about Kombu.
I’m wondering why you cook the lentils first before putting the soup together?
Janet, the lentils take longer to cook and if you follow the specific directions for cooking lentils it makes them much more digestible. Especially you do not want to put in the seaweed before they are soft as the salt in it will stop the lentils from becoming soft.
I grew up eating lentils & have never soaked them. Where do get green lentils? I have only used the brown & yellow.
Soaking the lentils makes them easier to digest.
I find my green lentils in supermarkets and in health food stores. Hope you can find some.