The Director of the Compliments Culinary Centre, Winnie Chiu, and I were having a conversation about eating less meat this year and I apologized because the blog I was planning on writing was about a hearty beef stew that can stretch your grocery dollar. However, when I went into the kitchen to start the dish I found that I was a few key ingredients short. So instead of panicking I went to the pantry and found a can of Compliments Diced Tomatoes and a can of lentils. I thought back to my earlier conversation with Winnie, and that’s when Lentil and Tomato Stew was born! Wouldn’t you know that this curry-based dish is tasty, healthy, full of vegetables and even more cost efficient than the stew that I had in mind. (But don’t worry I’ll save the stew for the Beat the Winter Blues blog!)
When making a good stew you need a base, onion, carrot, celery and garlic, a classic mairepoix. You need flavour builders, the great spices and some substance, the tomatoes and lentils. Now we have the right ingredients let’s get stewing.
Lentil and Tomato Stew
Makes 5 x 1 cup portions
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 1 hour
2 cup (500 mL) diced onion
1 cup (250 mL) diced carrot
1 cup (250 mL) diced celery
1 tbsp (15 mL) minced garlic
½ cup (125 mL) Compliments Chicken Broth, 30% Less Sodium
1 tsp (5 mL) cumin
1 tsp (5 mL) coriander
¼ tsp(1.25 mL) smoked paprika
¼ tsp (1.2 5mL)cardamom
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 540 mL can of lentils
1 796 mL can Compliments Diced Tomatoes
¼ tsp (1.25 mL) salt
¼ tsp (1.25 mL)pepper
- Over medium high heat ad the broth to a sauce pot and bring it to a boil. Add the onions and simmer for 3-5 min. Add the garlic, carrot and celery and bring back to a boil. Add in the spices and bring to a boil. Add the lentils and tomatoes and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer until vegetables are soft.
Yes, I took one of Chef Ryan’s tips from his last blog and went fat-free by sweating the vegetables in broth in stead of oil. You could easily make this a vegetarian dish by substituting vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth.
This is a quick, cost efficient recipe that isn’t lacking in substance or flavour. Serve over steamed rice or potatoes, with a side of bread (I chose Compliments Balance Multi Whole Grain Bread - this really is like a Light Cooking blog!). If you don’t know what to do with any leftovers just add broth to them and you have a hearty lentil tomato soup for lunch!! So give this one a try, I hope you like it.
Regards,
Chef Ian
Nutritional Analysis per Serving:
Energy: 90
Protein: 5g
Fat: 0.2
Saturated Fat: 0.0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Carbohydrates: 18g
Fibre: 6g
Sodium: 460g
Potassium: 162.45mg
