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olive oil onions celery garlic bay leaf tomatoes vegetable stock red wine eggplants kosher salt ground black pepper tzatziki sauce green pesto
Viewed: 62 - Published at: 3 years agoIngredients
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, Divided
- 2 cups Chopped Yellow Onions
- 1 stalk Celery Finely Chopped
- 5 cloves Garlic, Peeled And Minced
- 1 whole Bay Leaf
- 3 cups Dry French Green Lentils, Rinsed
- 1 can (15 Oz. Size) Diced Tomatoes, No Salt Added
- 2 quarts Vegetable Stock
- 1/4 cups Red Wine (optional)
- 2 whole (1 Lb. Size) Eggplants
- 2 Tablespoons Harissa (a Spicy Chili Sauce), Plus More For Serving
- 1- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
- 1 cup Tzatziki Sauce, Plain Yogurt, Or Sour Cream, For Serving (optional)
- 1/2 cups Green Pesto, Any Type, For Serving (optional)
Method
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.
- Add onion, celery, garlic, and bay leaf.
- Cook until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add lentils and stir constantly to toast, about 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, stock and wine, if using.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender.
- Meanwhile, turn on broiler (low setting, if applicable) and line a sheet pan or a 9x13 inch pan with foil.
- Coat clean, dry eggplants with olive oil (1 tablespoon total) using your hands and put them on the baking pan.
- Put pan into the oven, 6 inches from heat, and broil for about 25 minutes, turning eggplants onto a new side every 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool when heavy and blackened.
- Cut tops off eggplant and peel off the skin.
- Pull eggplant into strips, removing conspicuous chunks of seeds, if desired, and place in a colander set over a bowl or the sink for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Pulse eggplant in food processor until the long fibers are broken up and the mixture has just turned creamy and spreadable.
- Uncover stew and reduce heat to low.
- Stir in eggplant puree and the harissa, plus salt and pepper to taste (start with the listed amounts and go from there).
- Once well mixed and warm throughout, serve in bowls with extra condiments and bread, if desired.
- Notes: 1.
- The stew alone is vegan.
- Depending on your choice of condiments, its likely gluten-free and vegetarian after adding sauces.
- Pesto will be the most likely culprit in spoiling either of these classifications, so be sure to check your ingredients in the case of allergies or strict adherence.
- 2.
- If you dont have harissa, Id recommend adding chili powder (even better: ancho chili powder), ground cumin, ground coriander, ground caraway seeds, and a bit of cayenne pepper to the onions when theyre almost softened.
- Stir for a couple minutes, until the spices are aromatic.
- You may also wish to add smaller quantities raw at the end, to finish the soup.
- In lieu of all that, Sriracha will provide some heat and flavor, although it wont match the complexity of harissa.
- 3.
- The lentils make this stew insanely filling, especially when served with bread.
- The recipe will likely feed 12 or morejust dont use giant soup bowls, or you may end up throwing a lot out.
- The recipe halves fairly well (you can still add the full can of tomatoes) and freezes great.
- 4.
- Feel free to make a day or two aheadthe flavors noticeably deepen after just 12 hours in the refrigerator.
- 5.
- Recipe adapted from Food and Wine magazine, December 2014 print issue.