Adventures In Veggie Stew
It is a truth universally acknowledged…
…that legumes are good for you. However, I don’t much like them. I really wanted to like chickpeas, because you can make so many amazing things with them, but I just don’t like the flavor. Black beans and red beans are okay in moderate quantities in other things. But I don’t love them. HATE lima beans. I rather like large Northern white beans and cannellini beans, which aren’t quite the same thing but are close enough that they might as well be. I like split peas in split pea soup. And I LOVE lentils. I have multiple recipes that have lentils in them, where the legume isn’t just sort of an incidental part of the dish, but rather the star of the show. I’ve written an article before about cheesy lentil stew and I thought I’d share another new favorite: Mushroom Lentil Stew.
This recipe is adapted from a vegan version I found somewhere on the internet, so I am not the originator of the base idea. But while I do like eating vegetarian at least some of the time, I don’t really care about being truly vegan. So I adapted the original to “regular” food, and did not include things like fake vegan cheese. Blech.
Start with the oil of your choice in a large sauté pan. I used olive oil but avocado or grapeseed oil would be nice as well. Add in eight ounces of the sliced mushrooms of your choice. I’m going to say here that even if you normally only like the plain Jane white button mushrooms, this would be a good recipe to go a little out of your comfort zone and try something a little more exotic. Maybe some creminis? For the version I made for this blog, I found pre-sliced (love that!) containers of cremini, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms. Heat up the oil and then cook the mushrooms until they yield their water, shrink down, and turn a little brown. Do not add salt to the mushrooms while they are cooking, as this will encourage the mushrooms to steam, rather than to brown. We want them brown for flavor.
While you’re waiting for the mushrooms to brown, measure out a cup of milk and whisk in two tablespoons of corn starch. Also, take this time to drain two 15-oz cans of lentils. You could absolutely cook your own lentils the night before, which is easy and much cheaper. If you do that, you’ll need to measure out about three cups of your cooked lentils.
Once the mushrooms are nicely brown, add a little salt and pepper and then add in three minced cloves of garlic. Or, if you’re excessively fond of convenience like I am, whack in a big spoonful of the jarred minced garlic. Let that cook just for about thirty seconds, and then add in the milk and then the lentils. Stir this and let it thicken up. It will thicken up a LOT. This is the time to crack open your can of chicken or veggie stock and start stirring it in a little at a time. I don’t have a firm measurement for how much to add…just keep adding it and stirring it in until the stew is the consistency you want.
Then add in about 1/2 a cup of parmesan cheese. Stir this in, and check the flavor. This is the time to add more salt and pepper as needed, and also to recheck the consistency, as the cheese might have thickened things up again. Add a little more broth if needed. Finally, add in two cups of fresh baby spinach. I don’t bother measuring this…two generous handfuls should do it. Cook just until the spinach has wilted down and then dish it up and serve it. This makes four generous servings, with possibly a little left over for tomorrow. This tastes even better the day after!
When I was making this for the blog, I served it with some nice crusty, seed-y bread that my mother got at a local market. We toasted up the bread, slathered it with butter, and then I spooned stew onto my pieces and ate them together. Delicious!
This really is yummy and incidentally, quite healthy. It’s also pretty darn economical and really fast. I think it took me 15 minutes, start to finish. Give it a try!
Mushroom Lentil Stew
Click here for printable PDF of recipe
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz sliced mushrooms of choice
3 minced garlic cloves
2 15-oz cans lentils, drained OR 3 cups cooked lentils
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 cup milk of choice
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups fresh baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add the mushrooms. Cook until they have given up their water and turned a little brown. Then add a little salt and pepper. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Stir the corn starch into the milk until it’s smooth. Add the milk to the pan, followed by the drained lentils to the pan. Stir until it’s smooth and start adding the broth a little at a time until the consistency is as desired. Add in the parmesan cheese and stir until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
Right at the end of cooking, toss in the spinach and cook just until the leaves have wilted. Serve with some toasted crusty bread, if desired.
This keeps well for several days in the fridge or several weeks in the freezer. And as with most stews, it usually tastes even better a day or two after cooking.
