Lentil Stew

February 5, 2014 by paladinipotpie 1 Comment

I had always heard about Esau trading his birthright for a bowl of lentil pottage or stew, but for most of my life I didn’t have any idea what lentils were.

Now, in recent years, I’ve become quite adventurous in trying new foods – or actually in this case, old foods.

Lentils have been a staple for thousands of years, as we know from the Genesis story of Jacob’s culinary achievement.

And I learned that there are at least 99 other verses in the bible that mention lentils.

So lentils are a truly biblical food.

No wonder the lentil stew I made last night was such a hit with the ladies who came to my bible study.

And most of them probably didn’t even know that lentils provide 18 grams of protein per cup, at about 200 calories, with less than 1 gram of fat, and no cholesterol. Wow!

Here’s my recipe for this very inexpensive, easy, and healthy stew.

2 pounds of lentils

2 large onions, diced

8 cloves garlic, minced

3 bay leaves

1 #10 can of chopped tomatoes

3 tbsp olive oil

3 quarts of water (you can substitute chicken broth if you prefer.)

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot and add the onion and garlic.

Cook until transparent.

Add the lentils.

Add the water and tomatoes.

Add bay leaves and bring it to a boil.

Simmer until the lentils are tender. About an hour.

Stir from time to time and add a little more water if it seems too dry.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve it with a nice hearty bread.

Author: paladinipotpie

Welcome! My name is Andrena Paladini and this is a blog about family and love and faith and fun. I call it Paladini Potpie because a potpie is like an adventure in a crust. You never know what might come up, but it’s always going to be good! Think of the best potpie you’ve ever eaten…hot flaky crust holding a rich savory sauce and all kinds of pieces of meat and vegetables…and who knows what? As a family, we’ve chosen to live within the parameters of God’s love and protection. This is the crust of our Paladini Potpie. The crust never changes. Within this crust, the savory sauce of family love binds it all together. That is also fairly constant. But beyond the crust and the sauce we can add just about anything! Good ideas come our way and we’ve adopted and adapted them to add to what John calls our treasure box of memories. These stories and ideas from John’s treasure box of memories are the ingredients I’m putting into our Paladini Potpie. (Okay, so this ridiculous mixing of metaphors about treasure boxes and potpies is exactly what I’m talking about. Silly and ungrammatically correct. But both illustrations work… so we’ll mix them together and it’ll be just fine!) John and I have been married for 30 years. Our children have wonderfully doubled in number since David married Amanda, Monica married Dan, and Matthew married Sarah. And the newest little treats that have been added to our potpie are six adorable grandchildren - Ethan, Angelina, Nathan, Audrey, Maleia and Caleb! I hope you’ll subscribe to my Paladini Potpie blog, and keep up with all the fun new ingredients I add. Hopefully you’ll enjoy our stories and ideas, and find something you’ll want to put into your own potpie! Bon appétit!