A Tomato Lover's Stew
This African-influenced stew hovers somewhere between being a thick, Italian pomodoro sauce and American chili. You can spoon it over rice or couscous, serve it with crispy flatbread (in this case, a toasted pita with Parmesan cheese), or eat it all on its own. Be sure, though, to buy good-quality tomato sauce–it will be the foundation flavor for the entire dish. And although the lentils make it hearty enough not to need meat, you could also add leftover cooked chicken pieces to the stew if you’d like.
For the stew:
2 medium onions or 1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 c. (8 oz.) mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. ginger
1 T. paprika
dash of crushed red pepper
15-oz. can of tomato sauce
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 cup dried lentils (the red variety makes for a nice change of pace if you can find it)
Sauteé onions and pepper with 1 T. olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring, for another 4-5 minutes or until mushrooms have cooked through. Stir in spices. Sauteé for another minute or two, then add tomato sauce and corn. Carefully pour in stock and stir in the lentils. Reduce heat to low, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until lentils are soft. (Check package for exact cooking time.)
Serving option: place a handful of baby spinach leaves into each soupbowl and ladle the steaming-hot soup over them just before serving. Top with freshly-chopped Feta. (The kind in the brine is far, far more flavorful than the pre-dried, pre-crumbled variety.)
Enjoy!
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