Spanish lentil stew – Cazuela de lentejas

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g lentils
• 1 large onion(s)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bell pepper(s), green or red, finely diced
• 1 medium-sized carrot(s), finely diced
• 1 large beef tomato(s), skinned, pitted, roughly diced
• 2 clove(s) garlic, squeezed
• 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
• ½ tsp paprika powder, hot
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• 3 tsp vegetable stock powder
• 1 ¼ liters of water
• 500 g potatoes, floury, peeled, diced
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 8 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 35 minutes; Total time approx. 8 hours 55 minutes

vegan version

Soak the lentils in plenty of cold water overnight. Drain the water the next day. Pierce the peeled onion with the bay leaf and two cloves. Finely dice the bell pepper and carrot. Peel, deseed, and roughly dice the tomato. Peel and press the garlic. Peel and finely dice the potatoes. Heat the oil in a large pot. Briefly sauté the bell pepper, carrot, and tomato, along with the garlic cloves. Stir in both types of paprika and the cumin. Add the lentils and the pierced onion, pour in the water, and add the granulated vegetable stock. Bring everything to a boil and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Add the finely diced potatoes and simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove the onion and season the stew with salt, pepper, and a little more vegetable stock, if desired. Serve with white bread and a full-bodied Spanish red wine, such as one from Navarra. The original recipe uses meat broth, and 500g of sliced ​​chorizo ​​(Spanish paprika sausage) is added 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time. A ham bone can also be cooked with the lentils.