Easy Vegetarian Recipes

Try this recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance and you will thank me. I can almost guarantee it. Don’t be intimidated by the amount of ingredients. You will have to do a bit of chopping, but once you’ve done that, essentially you just throw everything into your pot and let it simmer together. Get yourself a box of quick cooking couscous (isn’t it all quick cooking?) and serve this stew over it. As always, my additions, omissions, and substitutions will be in parentheses.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, quartered and sliced thin
1 cup baby carrots, quartered and sliced thin (regular carrots work just as well)
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger (1 Tbsp ground ginger)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric (couldn’t find it, didn’t use it)
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water (I used just over 2 cups, and it was really thick, but I liked it that way)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
Several dashes fresh black pepper
1 cup dried red lentils, washed (I could only find green/brown?, so I used those.)
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4″ thick
1 cup green beans, cut to 1″ pieces
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp salt
1 bunch - about 4 cups - spinach, torn into pieces
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped mint
Lemon wedges to serve (omitted)

Directions
In a stockpot, sauté the onions in the olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the carrots and chile and sauté 3 minutes more. Add the garlic and ginger; sauté for 2 minutes. Add the cumin, turmeric, and coriander, and mix. Add the stock, water, tomato paste, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, black pepper, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.
Add the veggies (except the spinach) and raisins and salt, simmer 15 more minutes. Add the spinach, cilantro, and mint; stir well. When the spinach has wilted completely (about 1 minute) turn the heat off. Let the stew sit for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Serve over couscous with lemon wedges to squeeze in.

The hardest part will be waiting to eat it. Enjoy!

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