MM: Vegan Red Lentil Sweet Potato Stew

Hello, my name is Marian and I have travel vices.

On long car rides I sometimes stop at a gas station and pick up a bag of Twizzler Nibs, which is essentially crack. I consume the whole bag in a matter of miles and later go into a sugar-induced coma.

When I fly, I always get ginger ale as my complimentary beverage. I rarely drink any soda on the ground (unless there’s liquor in it) so it feels pretty special.

And before I get on the plane, I sometimes buy a magazine. I know, I am a wild and crazy person! I imagine there’s a 12 step program out there to help me with my vices.

Once upon a time I purchased a copy of Whole Living before a flight that contained a 3 week cleanse plan with recipes. Let’s make it clear up front that I am not a proponent of crazy cleanses. No grapefruit juice and and cabbage soup diet going on over here. But the recipes in that magazine looked delicious and they were all pescetarian-friendly!

I never committed to the whole 3 week cleanse, but I cherry picked some of the best looking recipes. One of them was this vegan red lentil and sweet potato stew. Like the my favorite Vegan Potato Curry, this recipe uses lots of my favorite Indian spices–cumin, curry, ginger, and garlic. It’s a recipe that feels rich and comforting while being super healthy. Make a big batch of this and reheat it for lunch or quick dinners (maybe even a Meatless Monday dinner…). And don’t skip the cilantro and peanuts! The texture contrast of the peanuts and the fresh taste of the cilantro take this stew to a whole new level.

Vegan Red Lentil Sweet Potato Stew

Ingredients

1 diced onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 peeled and diced sweet potatoes
1 red pepper
2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp curry powder
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups red lentils
6 cups vegetable broth
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped peanuts

Directions

1. Dice the onion, mince the garlic and ginger (a small food processor is AMAZING for this), peel and dice the sweet potatoes, and dice the red pepper.

2. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Cook the cumin, turmeric, and curry powder for about 1-2 minutes, until the spices are fragrant. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook until the onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Stir occasionally.

3. Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and red pepper and cook for one minute. Everything should be covered in the spice mixture and it should smell amazing already.

4. Add the lentils and broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to keep at a simmer. Cook until the lentils are tender, 20-25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Top bowls with the cilantro and peanuts.