Lentil and chorizo stew, with fresh or tinned tomatoes: this recipe comes in the full, from scratch version, as well as a 15-minute weeknight meal when cutting a couple of corners.
Are stews only good for autumn?
Spicy, hearty, tomatoey and earthy with cheese on top – this is a perfect autumnal dish you might say. I guess it’s the texture: things you’re more inclined to eat with a spoon rather than a fork suggest autumnal and wintry comfort. While finger food, on the other hand, shouts ‘summer!’ at the top of the voice.
Except it is not quite right, as otherwise they would never taste soup in Italy, let alone further south. Also, you can make a warming casserole out of summery green beans, as in the classic Thanksgiving side. Incidentally, please don’t use tinned mushroom soup – there is a perfectly good recipe out there with fresh mushrooms and fresh cream.
No comfort for hot climes
It’s only us wimps in Northern Europe that talk about comfort food, warming dishes, autumnal fare. We usually consume pulses and beans in winter while all of South America will beg to differ. A good bean chilli is good all year round after all.
We might think we wouldn’t fancy a big thick stew in the middle of the summer but on the other hand we are happy to scarf a roast with gravy. If you think about it, the ingredients are pretty much the same, only the texture is not.
I made this dish in fact at the height of summer for the first time to make use of fresh tomatoes at their best. And as this is inspired by both Spanish lentil stews and Mexican chilli, you are perfectly in your right to cook it and eat it all year round.
Version with fresh tomatoes
It’s entirely up to you whether you use fresh, or tinned, whole, peeled tomatoes. The latter is obviously cutting corners but it doesn’t mean the dish will be any less delicious. On the other hand, if you have abundant, fresh and ripe tomatoes, it would be a sin not to use them.
Peeling tomatoes only sounds tricky, and it doesn’t even involve extra washing up: reuse the tomato-blanching pan for cooking lentils.
Fresh tomatoes need to be scored with a sharp knife, then plunged in boiling water for ten or twenty seconds. On they go into iced water to stop cooking and for the skins to start opening up.
After that, peeling is easy. And if they are a little watery, scrape most of the seeds out when you chop them up roughly.
Version with lentils cooked from scratch
Again: the cooked lentils sold in pouches are perfectly fine to use, as long as they are not flavoured. But if you have dried lentils in your store cupboard, they’re really not difficult to cook.
Just rinse them, then place in the (same as tomatoes were in) pan with three times as much water, herbs and a tomato vine if you can get hold of it: it has incredible flavour.
Bring the lentils to the boil and simmer them for about twenty minutes, then leave to cool down in the cooking liquid. If you’re pressed for time, cook them for half an hour (checking if tender), then drain and you’re ready to cook the stew.
Cutting corners version
But as you can clearly see from the above, this recipe can be executed in about fifteen minutes on a busy weeknight, if you procure ready-cooked lentils and a tin of good tomatoes.
In which case simply chop the chorizo and onions, drain the tomatoes reserving the juice to balance the stew soupiness later and the dinner is in the bag. Or rather in the pot.
Fry the chorizo until crisp, add the onions and garlic and cook to soften, then tomatoes and lentils. Cook it all until the amount of liquid is to your liking and season generously.
A sprinkling of sharp, grated cheese will be welcome, as well as chopped parsley. This stew is delicious with plain rice or warm tortillas on the side.
More lentil recipes
Spicy, cheesy lentils bake, a superior vegetarian dish put together in 15 minutes. Baked cheesy lentils inspired by New York Times Cooking.
Mejadra is a simple lentil and brown rice dish and my recipe has a great fried onions shortcut tip. Levantine rice and lentils were the biblical Esau’s ‘bowl of stew’. Probably.
Lentil and mushroom bake with red peppers and a little spinach for vibrant colour. Lentils are cooked from scratch but no soaking is required for this recipe.
More chorizo recipes
Butter beans and chorizo with crispy Parmesan topping, a little heat from a chilli and saltiness from anchovy. Beans and sausage, but not as you know it!
Chorizo and sweetcorn filo pastry pie with a cheesy layer of ricotta and cheddar mix is a delicious weekend family brunch dish or a dinner party centrepiece since it’s perfectly good to prepare ahead.
Crispy chorizo potatoes, slices of leftover cooked new potatoes crispened in flavourful chorizo fat, that’s the best way to use up yesterday’s boiled potatoes. You might want to cook them specifically for this recipe.