I haven’t eaten much meat for over thirty years, for no environmental, health, religious or ethical reason, I just don’t like it much.
That means I eat a lot of fruit, nuts, vegetables and pulses. In fact, the lentils in the picture above are one of my favourite foods, and they’re really easy to make.
There are small and tiny brown lentils. I prefer the small ones, but you can use either.
There are plenty of recipes for lentil soup or stew, this is how I make it.
Rinse the lentils in a colander, you’ll need half a cup per person, be generous, you can eat the leftovers a day or two later.
Add three times the amount of water to a large pan. So, if you are cooking for two and use 1 whole cup of lentils, you need to add three cups of water. You can add more later on if it gets too thick.
Now add the vegetables, chopped into small pieces. For 2 people I’d include two carrots, half an onion, a clove of garlic, half a red and green pepper and some spinach.
There are four magical ingredients I add for flavour, a Spanish spicy sausage, called chorizo, a bay leaf, two spoonfuls of olive oil, and a stock cube (meat is best, but you can use a vegetable one, too).
If you don’t like or can’t get hold of the sausage, you can use come curry powder, or paprika, for flavour instead.
Now comes the easiest part, simmer for about 40 minutes, stiring occasionally.
If you’re in a hurry, you can use the pressure cooker. It’ll probably take less than 10 minutes.
However, you should know that lentils are best cooked slowly, and they’re delicious when reheated, so if you cook the day before, or even in the morning, they taste much better.
Another important part of the meal is the wine, I prefer a Spanish white, Rueda, but most people would accompany this meal with red wine, such as Rioja.
Did you know that in Italy lentils are said to bring prosperity for the year ahead when eaten on New Year’s Day?
Any questions?
Do you like or cook lentils? Feel free to share your tips or recipe if you do!
Rereading Jane Eyre 
Jacob cooked lentil soup after his grandfather Abraham died. His brother Esau thought that it smelled so good that he traded his birthright away for a bowl of it.
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Yes, of course, I’d forgotten about that! It’s been known as a delicious meal for ages. No wonder it tastes so special.
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Looks delicious I must say. I might even try it, hahahaha
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Let me know if you do!😍
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I surely will 🙂
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I’m from Spain so lentils with a good “chorizo” is….saving our life for us. Now in winter, what better to come back home and eat some hot lentils, with chorizo(sausage), potatoes, and some other complements….we reached heaven.
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I agree! I love lentils, especial on a cold day:)
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Forgot.
Easy to make and cheap. It´s very traditional here in Spain since it´s the receipt of my grandmother and mother after the Spanish civil war and much more years later when my parents just grew up poor. So the poor traditional plate now it has become a plate people will pay quite a lot in a restaurant.
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Is there still broth in it? It looks less like a soup and more like a casserole
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Hi Lisa, Sorry it took so long to reply, but your comment was in my spam folder. It can be both a soup/broth or a casserole, depending on whether it’s a first course or a main meal, so if it’s a main meal people add more vegetables and meat. some people even add rice! In Spain it’s often a family recipie, so it’s different all over the country and in different families.
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That’s OK. I made some and mine was definately more like a casserole. Thank you for taking me out of junk.
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