Spanish Lentil Stew with Chorizo
Lentejas is more commonly made with added chorizo and topped with some pickled peppers.
Ingredients
- 220 g dried lentils use brown or green
- 1.5 litres chicken stock you can also use water, or half stock and half water
- 1 stalk celery cut into inch long pieces
- Aromatics of choice rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, black peppercorn
- 1 ham bone
- 80 g chorizo semi-cured if possible
- 60 ml Olive oil
- 2 medium onions finely diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp ñora paste this is a roasted red pepper paste -- substitute a mashed roasted red pepper if you can't find it.
- 400 g chopped tomatoes drained
Instructions
- Rinse your lentils and look them over carefully for debris.
- Since cooking the lentils is what takes the longest, start by covering them with cold water or stock and bringing to a simmer.
- Add the celery, aromatics, and ham bone and return to a simmer for about 40 minutes, though this depends on the variety - taste them often so that they don't overcook and become mushy.
- Cut 3/4 of the chorizo into rounds, place them in a heavy frying pan and turn up the heat. Sear the chorizo on each side, allowing the fat to render.
- Remove the chorizo from the pan and reserve for later. Mince the uncooked 1/4 of the chorizo for later use as well.
- In the pan with the chorizo fat, add the olive oil over a medium heat
- Add the onions and cook slowly until starting to brown (about 7 minutes)
- Add the carrots and cook another 5 minutes or so, until everything is cooked through and golden
- Add the garlic for another couple of minutes
- Add the tomatoes, minced chorizo, tomato paste and roasted pepper paste
- Cook over medium heat, stirring, until completely reduced to a paste (sofrito)
- Add this sofrito mixture to the lentils, and simmer together until all of the flavors are well combined. Taste the lentils often to make sure you don't overcook them.
- Once cooked through, remove the aromatics and the celery from the pot and let the soup sit, uncovered, for as long as you can wait (the longer, the better combined the flavors will be)
- Serve hot and top with the seared chorizo and some pickled peppers if you can get them!
- Enjoy your homemade lentejas con chorizo!
Notes
Tip: if you like a thicker version, remove a couple of ladles of lentils before adding the sofrito (make sure they're cooked through) and run this through the blender until smooth. Add back to the soup for a thicker version.
Nutrition
Calories: 442kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 19gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 4gFiber: 20gSugar: 8g
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