The perfect recipe to use up an abundance of tomatoes from the garden. It is an extraordinarily easy recipe to execute and the type of delicious your body craves. Lentils have one of the widest range of nutrients including large amounts of iron. You must soak the lentils the day before, but if you forget you can always soak in the morning and start to cook 6 or more hours later.

Surprisingly this extremely simple recipe was a huge hit with my baby boy of 5 years old who is going through a picky stage. He ate more variety when he was 2 years old then now. I was very pleased that he liked this recipe so much. If you like Indian dahls, this is modeled off of that, but with fewer spices. It is sweet and mild and the ginger complements the underlying flavor perfectly. If you have more than 3 in your family, you should double this recipe because it is a perfect meal to reheat in seconds a day or two later. 

This is an easy recipe to remember because it is in ratios of 2 tomato to 1 of everything else; 1 c lentils, 1 onion, 2 lbs tomatoes, 1 lb potatoes, 1 nice piece of peeled ginger…that way you can recreate when you are shopping and have not meal planned. The amount of potatoes is very flexible. You could put one potato or the whole amount. If you have leftover cooked potatoes from another recipe, this is a good place to use them and reduces cook time from the last step. This is also a very economical recipe, especially in the summer when tomatoes are in season. Perfect for those days you do not want to cook.

This recipe goes great with Wheat Free Brown Soda Bread. You can make your bread the night before when you start soaking your lentils, or when you start cooking the lentils, as it takes about the same time for the lentils to cook as it does for the bread to be made. You can find the recipe here:

https://thecarmencooks.com/staging/3924/instant-wheat-free-brown-soda-bread/

Total Time: 12-24 hrs because lentils must be soaked for a minimum of 6 hrs, up to 24 hrs, then they can be sprouted for another day if desired. Be sure to drain the water off the lentils and rinse them well with your source of filtered water.

Old school nutritionists will talk about how plant foods are not a good source of iron because of the phytates. This is simply not true because 85-95% of phytates are removed via soaking and cooking the lentils. And we drain all the soaking and cooking water here so these are an excellent source of iron. Add in a squeeze of lemon to the top of your dish to further liberate iron. Scroll to the end to see more blog posts on iron, phytates, and why plant based iron is far preferred by the body!!

Step By Step Photos:

Tomato Lentil Stew

A fast meal with a mild sweet flavor children and adults will love.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Active Time 12 minutes mins

Servings 4

Equipment

• stainless steel pot 4 quart or so
• 1 large wooden spoon
• 1 blender
• 1 chef knife and paring knife

Ingredients

  

• 1 generous cup of lentils
• 1 very large white onion or 2 medium
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 2 inches of peeled ginger
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 lbs tomatoes preferably very ripe
• 1 cup diced red potatoes about 3/4-1 lb, depending on your preferences, can also use precooked leftover potatoes in any quantity

Notes

1. 1. Rinse and swish your lentils then drain. Add filtered water to your lentils and let sit 6-24 hours.

1. 1. Cook your lentils in fresh filtered water (scant 2 quarts, or ) for 1 hr on medium high heat. Partially cover your pan. Use at least a 4 quart saucepan.
   2. If you plan to serve this with Wheat Free Brown Soda Bread, you can start your bread recipe at the same time you start cooking your lentils.

1. 1. Drain the lentil broth and reserve the broth to use in another recipe as stock. Lentil broth plus spices and salt is a good beef broth substitute. Reserve your lentils and let them continue to drain while you cook the onions in the same pan you cooked your lentils in to cut down on dishes.

1. 1. Dice your onion and caramelize in the olive oil. You want the onion to be lightly caramelized and golden brown, without any charred sections so the recipe remains sweet.

1. 1. You are going to blend the tomatoes, ginger and cooked onion.

1. 1. De stem the tomatoes and peel the ginger and blend both well.

1. 1. Add the onion and blend. The mixture will turn a beautiful creamy color.

1. 1. Add the mixture back to your same pot with the lentils and begin simmering while you dice your potatoes.

1. 1. Add your potatoes and salt, cover the pot, and let simmer on low heat for 15 min, or until the potatoes are cooked through, but not mushy.

1. 1. Serve plain, great toppings include avocado, cultured vegetables, or simply a tablespoon of ghee. You may serve with brown or white rice to make a complete protein, but it is also delicious alone. A side of Irish Soda Bread would make it decadent. 

Nutrition Facts

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.