Chorizo Lentil Stew
After I moved to Bilbao in September 2008, this was one of the first Spain-inspired recipes I ever made. Bilbao is green and hilly and lies in the Basque north of Spain, a part of the country that is wilder, wetter and colder than the rest.
Eating out was cheap, so I ate out a lot. And at just about every local restaurant I came across, they served a variation on this dish. It’s perfect for cold rainy days - and for today, the coldest day in the past two weeks. It fills your belly and warms you right up.
Eating out was cheap, so I ate out a lot. And at just about every local restaurant I came across, they served a variation on this dish. It’s perfect for cold rainy days - and for today, the coldest day in the past two weeks. It fills your belly and warms you right up.
1.5 L vegetable stock
100g potatoes (of a waxy variety, that retain their shape when boiled), peeled
120g carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
100g chorizo, sliced
2 cups dried pardina lentils (or 1 can of pre-cooked lentils).
3 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slices
optional: 100g pre-cooked chick peas
1 tbsp flour
dash of Worcestershire sauce
dash of Maggi seasoning
dash of Tabasco sauce
2 bay leaves
spices: 1/4 tsp each of cumin, paprika powder, and cinnamon
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garnish with chopped cilantro (I ran out so I used parsley instead, but really - go with cilantro).
Instructions:
1. In a large heavy based pot or Dutch oven, add some olive oil and sauté the carrots and onion until they soften. When nearly done, season with cumin, paprika and a tiny bit of cinnamon. Pour over a few dashes of Tabasco sauce, a tablespoon of flour and stir well.
2. Add the vegetable stock. If the potatoes are big, cut them into large chunks. If they are small, use them whole and add to the pot together with the celery and bay leaves and dried lentils (NB: if you use pre-cooked canned lentils, don’t add them now but wait until step 5).
3. In the meantime, sauté the garlic and chorizo over medium heat for 5-6 minutes and add to the vegetable stock.
4. Let everything simmer over medium heat for another 30 minutes. Make sure it stays at a simmer and does not boil, or the lentils will split.
5. If you use canned lentils, add them at this stage (together with, optionally, the pre-cooked chick peas). Season with salt and pepper to taste, a dash of Maggi, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, and another dash of Tabasco. Let simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
6. Top with chopped cilantro and serve steaming hot, with crusty rustic white bread.
