Golden French Lentil Stew for Your Soup Weather Cravings

While temperatures haven't quite dropped here in California, that hasn't stopped us from diving right into soup season. Today's bowl of goodness is straight from our favorite new cookbook, Oh She Glows Everyday by Angela Liddon (of the Oh She Glows blog!). Loaded with lentils and plenty of veggies, it makes a delicious dinner or leftover-based lunch. It's freezer friendly too, so feel free to prep ahead and have on hand for a night when you just can't cook. 

This golden-hued stew is remarkably rich and creamy, thanks to the addition of a dairy-free cream base that can be either nut or seed based. Turmeric gives this stew its joyful, rich color, not to mention anti-inflammatory benefits; curcumin, one of the compounds in turmeric, has been shown to help reduce swelling and inflammation. When I was developing this recipe, I tested the stew with both cashew and sunflower seed cream, and both versions work beautifully. It’s a friendly recipe for those with tree nut allergies (provided you can still eat sunflower seeds). The stew is spiced with dried thyme and cumin, and it packs a hefty portion of greens (Swiss chard or kale—your choice!) and other hearty vegetables like carrot and celery. The French green lentils hold their shape well and add a lovely, chewy element, but feel free to use green or brown lentils if that’s all you can find. The stew will just be thicker, since green and brown lentils break down a bit more.

GOLDEN FRENCH LENTIL STEW

Makes 8 cups or 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup raw cashews or 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds

2 cups water

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large yellow or sweet onion, diced, or 2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced

4 large cloves garlic, minced

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, to taste, plus a couple pinches

2 medium carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 can of diced tomatoes, with juices

3/4 cup uncooked French green lentils, picked over and rinsed

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

3 cups stemmed and chopped

Swiss chard or kale leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

1 to 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar, to taste

Directions

1. Put the cashews in a bowl and cover with a couple of inches of water. Soak for 1 to 2 hours or overnight. (For a quick-soak method, cover with boiling water and soak for 30 to 60 minutes.) Drain and rinse. Transfer the cashews to a high-speed blender along with 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the water. Blend on high until super smooth and creamy in texture. Set the cashew cream aside.
2. In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, and a couple pinches of salt, and sauté until the onion is softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
3. Stir in the carrots and celery, and cook for another few minutes or so. Stir in the cumin, thyme, and turmeric until combined.
4. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, lentils, broth, and remaining water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes,until the lentils are tender.
5. Stir in the cashew cream and chard. Add salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste. (The vinegar’s role is to add a little bit of brightness to the soup; add a bit at a time and keep tasting, as it can quickly overwhelm.) Cook for a couple of minutes over low-medium heat, until the chard is wilted, and then serve. This stew will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or you can freeze it for 1to 2 months (always let it cool completely before storing). The stew will thicken after sitting in the fridge; you can thin it out with a bit of broth when you reheat it, if desired, or simply serve it thick with some crusty bread.

Oh She Glows Tip: When the cashew (or sunflower seed) cream is mixed into the soup, the broth can take on a speckled appearance due to it reacting with vinegar. This is totally normal and does not affect the delicious flavor of the soup!

Reprinted from Oh She Glows Every Day by arrangement with Avery, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2016, Angela Liddon.