Description
Existing Chefly lentil-and-spinach stew adapted as a specific slow-cooker route with onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes, spices and lemon.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 medium Yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium Carrots, diced
- 2 stalks Celery stalks, diced
- 3 cloves Garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 1 cup Dry green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
- 28 oz Canned diced tomatoes with juices
- 4 cups Vegetable broth
- 5 oz Baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Fine salt, initial amount; adjust after tasting
- 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
Instructions
- Sort and rinse 1 cup dry green or brown lentils. Dice onion, 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks; mince 3 garlic cloves. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet, soften onion, carrots and celery for about 4 minutes, then stir in garlic, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander and 1/2 tsp smoked paprika for about 1 minute.
- Transfer the aromatic mixture to a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Add lentils, one 28-oz can diced tomatoes and juices, 4 cups vegetable broth, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Stir and cover.
- Cook on low approximately 6–8 hours, checking lentil tenderness before the final 20 minutes. A high setting of about 3–4 hours is a possible existing-page route but is not the timed card's tested baseline. If lentils are not tender, continue cooking rather than using the clock as proof.
- During the last 20 minutes of the low cook, stir in 5 oz baby spinach. Cover until the spinach is wilted and the stew hot. Turn off heat and stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice; taste with a clean spoon and adjust seasoning after a trial.
- Ladle into six bowls. Record actual thickness, lentil tenderness, cooker setting and cooked yield before approving the revision.
Notes
Recipe-development draft; not kitchen-tested. Timing and yield are estimates. Nutrition has not been calculated.
Untested 8-hour-low upper-bound estimate plus 5 minutes aromatic sauté; the spinach is added in the last 20 minutes, not after the eight hours. Actual lentil tenderness determines finish.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 485 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: One sixth of the finished slow-cooker batch, excluding sides