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Lentil and chorizo stew

Updated: Wed, 21 August, 2024

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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.

lentil and chorizo stew cuisinefiend.com

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.

lentil casserole with chorizo cuisinefiend.com

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.

lentils and chorizo cuisinefiend.com

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.

tomatoes cuisinefiend.com

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.

peeling tomatoes cuisinefiend.com

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.

cooking lentils cuisinefiend.com

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.

cooking chorizo and onions cuisinefiend.com

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.

cooking lentil stew cuisinefiend.com

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.

lentil and chorizo stew with fresh tomatoes cuisinefiend.com



Lentil and chorizo stew

Servings: 2Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g (over a pound) ripe tomatoes or a tin of whole peeled tomatoes
  • 150g (1 cup) puy lentils or a pouch of ready-cooked
  • a tomato vine (optional)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ bunch of thyme tied with kitchen string
  • 1 medium onion
  • 3 garlic cloves 
  • 140g (5 oz.) spicy chorizo
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
  • ½ bunch of parsley
  • salt
  • 2 tsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika, or more to taste
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
  • 50g (½ cup) grated Cheddar or Gruyere, to serve


METHOD

1. If using tinned tomatoes and ready cooked lentils, drain the tomatoes reserving the juice, then go straight to point 4.

2. If using fresh tomatoes: bring a large pan of water to the boil and get a bowl with iced water ready. Cut crosses in the base of the tomatoes with a serrated knife and drop them into the boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain them with a slotted spoon into the iced water and drain the water immediately. Peel the skins off tomatoes, cut each in half horizontally and scrape out the seeds with a small spoon. Set the tomatoes aside and empty the pan they were boiling in.

3. If using dried lentils: rinse them with plenty of cold water and place them in the previously used pan with 3 cups of water, bay leaves, tomato vine if using, and the thyme bundle. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and leave to cool or for at least 30 minutes, then drain the lentils and remove the vine and the herbs.

4. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Slice the chorizo and place in a large dry frying pan or a wok. Place it over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning the sausage occasionally, until the chorizo is crisp and the fat has rendered. Remove the chorizo slices and add the onions and garlic to the pan. Cook stirring for 5–10 minutes until softened. In the meantime grind the caraway in pestle and mortar and finely chop the parsley.

5. Add the tomatoes to the pan and halve any bigger pieces with a spoon whilst stirring. Add the lentils, sprinkle generously with salt, add the tomato puree, ground caraway, smoked paprika and chilli flakes, if using. Return the chorizo in and simmer over medium heat, stirring, adding some of the tomato juice when it looks too dry.

6. Taste for seasoning and add half the chopped parsley. When the consistency is to your liking, spoon the stew into serving bowls and sprinkle with the grated cheese and extra parsley. Serve with plain rice or warmed tortillas and plenty of green salad.

Originally published: Fri, 23 November, 2018


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Hello! I'm Anna Gaze, the Cuisine Fiend. Welcome to my recipe collection.

I have lots of recipes for you to choose from: healthy or indulgent, easy or more challenging, quick or involved - but always tasty.


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