Sunny Lentil Stew (4 main course servings)
A delicious winter stew of lentils, orange vegetables, and oranges. Good
with the spinach salad. Both are very low fat, and are delicious even with
the salt left out, if your diet requires you to avoid salt as well as fat.
Pick over and rinse well:
1 pound lentils (about 2 1/2 cups)
Put lentils in a pot large enough to hold all of the ingredients. Add:
1 sweet potato (about 12 oz.) peeled, cut in half lengthwise and thinly
sliced (1/8 inch) into half-moons (about 2 cups)
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch slices (about 1 cup)
1 small Butternut or Hubbard squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
(about 2 cups)
2 stalks celery washed and cut into 1/4 inch slices (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup orange juice
3 cups water
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes with juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
Stir to combine all ingredients. Arrange on top of the stew:
1 whole orange, sliced in half crosswise, then sliced into 1/8 inch half-moons
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 45 minutes. (Or cook in
a slow cooker on low 6 to 7 hours). Longer cooking will not hurt the
stew-the sweet potato and squash will lose their shape and blend into the
sauce. Serve in bowls, garnished with
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
V. H. Jergens
vhj@xxxxxxx