cookery · xii

lentil stew

four bowls · one hour · the long week

ingredients

• 250g brown or green lentils
• one onion, one carrot, one stick of celery, all small-diced
• two cloves garlic, sliced
• a small spoon of tomato paste
• a bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper
• a litre of water, more if it asks
• a spoon of vinegar at the end

method

1. sweat the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in oil until soft and silent, ten minutes.
2. stir in the paste, then the lentils, then the herbs and water; simmer uncovered until the lentils have broken just a little.
3. salt, pepper, the spoon of vinegar; rest off the heat ten minutes before eating.

the vinegar at the end is what makes it a stew and not a soup.

good with winter kale stirred in, or over a piece of bread at midday; the pantry has the lentils, always.