Spicy Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew With Chipotles

- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion, chopped
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- Salt to taste
- 2teaspoons cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
- 2medium carrots, diced
- 1½cups brown or green lentils, rinsed
- 6cups water
- 2medium-size sweet potatoes (aka yams, with dark orange flesh, 1 to 1¼ pounds), peeled and cut in large dice
- 1 to 2chipotles in adobo, seeded and chopped (to taste)
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- 1bay leaf
- ¼cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (to taste)
- Lime wedges for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until it softens, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the garlic smells fragrant, about 30 seconds, and add the ground cumin seeds and carrots. Stir together for a minute, then add the lentils, water, sweet potatoes, chipotles, tomato paste, salt to taste and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 40 to 45 minutes, until the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender and the broth fragrant. Taste and adjust seasoning. Stir in the cilantro or parsley, simmer for another minute, and serve, passing lime wedges so diners can season their lentils with a squeeze of lime juice if desired.
- Advance preparation: This will be good for 3 or 4 four days but it will thicken as the lentils will continue to swell. If you want to thin it out, add water or stock.
Private Notes
Comments
Very fragrant dish while under preparation. I used vegetable broth instead of water and steamed the carrots before adding them at the very end, hoping their texture would compliment the softer sweet potatoes - it worked! Delicious, too.
Two peppers added just the right amount of heat according to my husband and son. I used a colorful lentil medley and a couple splashes of plum vinegar at the end to brighten up the dish, which made it perfect.
I found this unbalanced. It sorely needed an umami component for richness and mouthfeel. Although it would make it non-vegetarian, the addition of some pork shoulder would help, as would replacing the water with chicken stock. Or maybe just some cheese, like chèvre.
I also found 4 cups of liquid sufficient and resulted in more of a stew rather than a soup.
We added more cumin, more lime, more cilantro. And even so it tastes like a pretty basic lentil soup, not getting a ton of flavor from the chipotles. Adding a sprinkle of coarse salt helped wake up some of the flavors. Next time I’m going to use broth instead of water and add some more chili in adobo to give it some more oomph
Has anyone put leftovers in the freezer?
Upped the garlic and chipotle; used chicken broth; added kale at the end. divided and froze for many breakfasts. Yum
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