Sweet Potato Lentil Stew

Wow. Amazing. This is definitely one of the best lentil dishes we have made yet. Extremely flavorful and very filling. It can be served alone as a stew, over rice or couscous, or with the delicious corn muffins we made to go with it. The sweet flavor of the sweet potatoes was complimented perfectly by the corn muffins. Both recipes are out of Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet.

 

Sweet Potato Lentil Stew

serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1/4 cup safflower oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 small tomatoes, diced

1 tsp minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp cayenne

fine sea salt

2-3 medium swet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes

7 cups vegetable broth

1 cup brown lentils

 

Directions:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, deep pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes or until the onion starts to soften. Stir in the tomatoes and ginger and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, and a small pinch of salt. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, then taste for seasonings; try to use only enough salt to heighten the flavors. 

 

2. Add the sweet potatoes, broth, and lentils. Stir well, and bring to a boil over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes or until the lentils and sweet potatoes are soft. 

 

Note: We used grape tomatoes that we already had in the fridge instead of regular sized tomatoes. We also used green lentils and left out the coriander, since it's not my favorite spice, and added fresh parsley for a substitute.We didn't skin the potatoes either.