Chunky Vegan Lentil Stew

So, as an artist this creative expression extends to my cooking. Hence, I usually just cook by eye and heart and each time my dishes turn out a little bit different, making each meal unique. But since I was asked, for the recipe of last night’s creation by several people, I made note of what I was doing (to some degree – lol!) to provide a recipe.

My suggestion is to put in whatever your drawn to and speaks to your tummy and to adjust the amounts, as my likes aren’t everyone’s. Just use this as a skeleton template to bulk it up with your heart’s fancy! It’s fun to just be creative in the kitchen and create new tastes.

Easy Chunky Vegan Lentil Stew:

1 cup of organic sprouted green lentils from Tru Roots

2 cups of organic veggie broth and 2 cups of organic mushroom broth (you can also just use water or all veggie broth or whatever veggie broth base you desire)

2 garlic cloves

about 1 1/2 – 2 cups of marinated tomatoes (balsamic and spices are yum) or for ease you may choose a full can of organic fire roasted tomatoes with chipotle peppers)

about 2 tbsps of organic vegan worcestershire sauce (i am generous with this because it really brings a nice taste to it)

about 1 tsp of organic thyme

about 1 tsp of organic rosemary

1 10 oz. package of organic frozen chopped spinach

about 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

about half a cup of organic mushrooms

1/4 tsp of cayenne

3 large organic carrots chopped

one bunch of organic celery (was like 10-12 stalks) chopped

about 2 cups of organic fingerling potatoes chopped

and some ground black pepper to taste

I like my stew to be chunky and the veggies cooked, but to still have a little crunch. So I start by pouring in the broths and bring them to boil and then one by one I add the ingredients, starting with the lentils. (the cool thing about using the sprouted lentils I mentioned is that they cook really fast!) I don’t do any prep before, except the marinating tomatoes, if I go that route, otherwise I just chop up everything in between stirring and boiling and keep adding until everything is in.

This way it already gets cooking and there’s not much down time to wait and you don’t need to overcook. When completed I then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes and voila!

Very simple. Super healthy. Great comfort food and warming for chilly weather.

Makes a nice large pot (you can also double or triple and have tons more left over) but I usually have enough for about 3 meals for 2 people from this. It just depends on how much you eat. With a hearty stew it’s not necessary to eat tons and you can always make some great garlic bread to go with it or whatever you like.