It may be late March here in Tallinn Estonia, but winter has made yet another come back! Though the floating snow lacks the charm it had in late December, I have decided to take advantage of the chilly mood to keep enjoying my soups and stews.
This has by far been my favorite go-to stew this winter season- and I apparently now the Estonian spring season too. It has filled both home and belly with colorful aromas and flavors that brighten up the cold, grey days and send your taste buds on a quick vacation to Morocco.
So let’s get started.
If you want the soup to be more runny just add more water or milk.
Moroccan Lentil Stew
Ingredients:
- 1 onion diced
- 2-4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 medium sweet potatoes chopped
- 5 large carrots chopped
- 400-500g green lentils
- 4-5 cubes bullion
- 5-6 cups of water
- milk of choice (optional)
- jalapeños (optional)
Instructions:
1. Chop and mince all of your vegetables.
2. Heat up some olive oil on medium high heat.
3. After oil is heated, sauté the onion and garlic until onions are soft and translucent. Stir frequently so the garlic doesn’t burn.
4. Next, stir in the sweet potato and carrots until even coated with oil and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
5. Now add the tomato sauce and spice, stir together so the spices are evenly distributed and cook together for about 1-2 minutes.
6. Then pour in the lentils and cook together for 1-2 more minutes. Keep stirring frequently so the spices and lentils don’t burn.
7. Now add 5-6 cups of water ( or until the water just covers the contents) and 4-5 cubes bullion (one cube less than the cups of water).
8. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. 9.
10. Once it’s finished cooking, you can eat it as is or you can pour a bit of your favorite milk and pulse it with a purée machine to make it extra creamy. If you want the soup to be more runny just add more water or milk.
11. - OPTIONAL: garnish with jalapeños, cilantro, sour cream or any other fitting extra you can think of.
Soul Food 