FOOD: Go healthy with a Spanish-style lentil stew

There are few things more painful than counting the days till payday after Christmas! And there are still hungry mouths to feed after all that seasonal squandering. A bit of frugality doesn’t go amiss after such excess, but eating cheaply can be done and the food can still be very tasty. Take lentils: as cheap and cheerful as you get but also very good for you. They are versatile too – you can make soups, curries, stews and more.
Decades ago, I lived in Madrid for a couple of years. In those days, most restaurants did a very reasonably priced set lunch or ‘Menú del día’. At least once a week, a lentil dish would crop up and an excited murmur would circulate around the room – “Ay! Lentajas!”.
Spanish lentil dishes are very tasty indeed. There are all kinds of variations – different types of lentils, some with meat, some vegetarian – and you can tweak your own lentil dish with whatever ingredients you have to hand. The recipe below is vegetarian, but you could add chorizo or bacon lardons.
Cooking time depends on the type of lentil you use. As a rule of thumb, green lentils take about 20 minutes; brown lentils around 20-25 minutes, Puy or black lentils, 25-30 minutes. Red lentils are the quickest, around 15 minutes. Take care not to let your lentils go mushy.
Before cooking stand your lentils in a bowl of cold water for about ten minutes to remove dust- and check there are no small stones. Rinse in a sieve under the cold tap. You can buy a pack of lentils for around €1 in most supermarkets. They will be fine, but if you buy organic lentils for a few euros more they will be infinitely plumper, firmer and just better.
The trick to the Spanish dish is to cook your lentils and vegetables in one pot and sauté up your onions and spices in a pan, blitz, then add to the lentil pot. If you are using meat, brown in a separate pan and cook with the lentils for 15 minutes.

Spanish-style lentil stew

What you need
400g red lentils
1 biggish potato
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 large white onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1.2 ltr of water or veg or chicken stock
4 tbsp tomato puree
Half a red pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
100ml white wine (optional)
Olive oil
Pepper, sea salt

What you do
Put the lentils in a large pot and add the water or stock, the tin of tomatoes, half the onion (not chopped), the potato (small chunks) and carrots (finely chopped), the garlic, bay leaf, a quarter teaspoon of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper. (If you’re using chorizo or lardons, brown now and add to the lentils.) Bring to the boil then simmer till cooked – 15-20 minutes. You may need to add a bit more water, keep an eye on the pot. Chop the other half of the onion and the red pepper and sauté in a good glug of olive oil. Add a good pinch of sea salt. Reduce the heat and sweat till translucent, around 8-10 minutes.
Stir in the tomato puree then add the smoked paprika and cumin. If you’re using wine, pour it in now and cook off for a minute. Place the onion mix into a blender and add in the half onion and garlic cloves from the lentil pot. Blitz then gently stir into the lentils and cook for a few minutes. Adjust the seasoning then serve either with rice or crusty bread. Buen provecho!

•  Sandra and Redmond Cabot live in Lanmore, outside Westport, with their children, Penny and Louis. Fresh, seasonal foods are their passion – shopping at country markets, growing their own veg and producing their own dips and sauces for sale.