Skills you will learn in this recipe
Choosing & cooking lentils; making a simple lettuce salad
Links to the last recipe
Cooking with pulses; making a rich stew
This lentil stew is simple, but still complex and rich in flavour. Lentils are so healthy and so easy to cook, and a great ‘sponge’ for flavour too. But they come in a wide range of colours and grades, which can be a bit confusing when choosing them, especially if your recipe just says ‘lentils’!
There are basically six main types of lentils, that fit into three broader groups. The six key types are brown, green, French green, yellow, red and black. Brown & green lentils tend to hold their shape, and are good in stews & soups, as are French green. Red & yellow lentils tend to break down more on cooking – so are good for purees and Indian dals. Speciality lentils include Puy (a PDO protected type of French green) and black beluga; these are both firm lentils and good therefore in salads.
Today’s recipe calls for green or brown lentils. Traditionally you’d use Spanish pardina lentils, but these can be hard to find (and more expensive). Today we used generic ‘lentilles vertes’ (French green, but not the more expensive Puy), but any green or brown lentils will do, and they are generally very cheap to buy.
Jake sticks his nose in
If you see lentils that are just sold as ‘lentils’ then these are most likely brown lentils, which are the most common type.
Most commonly found lentils (especially small green/brown ones) do not need soaking – apart from very large, tougher ones – but do check the packet. They will need to be thoroughly rinsed however, as lentils can harbour dust or small stones.
Put the lentils into a sieve, then run under the cold tap. Tip them into a saucepan and cover with cold water by about 5cm, as below.
Set the pan over a high heat, and bring to a rolling boil, then turn the heat right down. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer until just tender (check the cooking time on the packet), about 30 minutes.
While the lentils are cooking, prepare the vegetables. Peel and chop a large white or brown onion, find out how in our Tip. You don’t need to chop it too fine – a medium dice is best.
Next top & tail and peel the carrots, then cut them into batons. Chop, again into medium dice.
Now peel the tomatoes, stabbing them all over with a knife and soaking in boiling water until the skins loosen. Find our how in our tomato Tip.
Chop the tomatoes quite roughly, removing the stem bed and any tough white areas, but you don’t need to deseed them for this dish.
Jake sticks his nose in
We like fresh tomatoes in this dish, and it’s worth skinning them – you can find details on how to do this in our Tip. But you could use canned tomatoes if you prefer.
Next peel and chop the garlic. See how in our Tip – you can keep the garlic quite roughly chopped. This dish can take quite a lot of garlic and we like it! So we use 5 or 6 cloves. But if you are not such a garlic fan, 2 or 3 cloves will do.
Also chop the ham. Serrano is a lovely Spanish cured ham, and less expensive than other Spanish hams, but still packed with flavour. You could use Parma if you can’t find it, though Serrano, if available, is more fitting, and usually slightly cheaper, too. It tends to be quite fatty, as it should be for flavour. We like to pull a little of the larger pieces of white fat off, but this isn’t essential as it will ultimately melt into the dish. And you do want some fat for taste.
When the lentils are cooked – test some by biting into, they should be tender but still retain some bite – drain in a sieve over a bowl or jug. You want to retain the cooking liquid for later, so don’t drain them into the sink!
Your mise en place is done, and you are ready to make the lentil stew!
We like to serve this stew with a simple lettuce salad – the crunch goes well with the earthy depth of the lentils. You could use just dressed leaves – we like a lemon vinaigrette with lettuce. But we add a touch more Spanish flair with some shaved Manchego cheese, a nice pairing. And being big cheese fans, we don’t think any dish has ever been hurt by adding it!
It’s worth getting ahead on your salad prep before you start assembling the stew – the cook time on the stew is relatively short & busy once the lentils are done, and you’ll want to keep an eye on it.
Start by making a lemon vinaigrette. We give all the details on how to make one in our vinaigrette Tip, but swap the vinegar for an equal amount of lemon juice. Squeeze one lemon, then add one tablespoon of juice to the dry ingredients (salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar and mustard) in a jar. Shake with one tablespoon of olive oil; then add 2 to 3 more tablespoons, and shake again to emulsify. Keep in the fridge until needed.
Now prepare the lettuce. We like a crisp lettuce in this salad. Today we used romaine, but little gem, cos or any other crunchy lettuce will work. Remove the outer leaves, then slice the lettuce across the width into strips. You want a balance between the softer green end and crunchy white end, but we discard the very end of the stem, which is tough, and the very end of the green, which can be flabby. Separate the pieces a bit, and put in your serving bowl.
Now prepare the cheese. We like Manchego, which has a lovely nutty flavour and is Spanish, but any firm cheese you like will work. We prefer shavings or strips of cheese over grated (which gets a bit lost in the salad). A neat tip is to use a potato peeler. Just run the peeler over the cheese, using a fairly firm pressure, until you have a nice flurry of thin shavings.
Manchego needs the rind removed; other cheeses may not. You don’t need too much cheese as the peeler gets it so fine a big pile of shavings will build up quickly. We used about half a small block. Do reserve a little cheese for garnishing at the end.
Jake sticks his nose in
The peeler tip is a good one as you get lovely thin shards of cheese. But you could slice the cheese finely with a sharp knife, or use the slicing side (usually two or three blades) on a box grater. The peeler is the easiest though!
Add the cheese to the lettuce and toss slightly to combine. Snip over a few chives, easiest using scissors, reserving some to garnish. Do not add the dressing until you are ready to serve. The dry salad can keep in the fridge until needed, just top with some kitchen paper or foil. The vinaigrette also keeps well in its jar in the fridge. If you combine them too soon, the salad will start to get soggy and deteriorate, so don’t dress it until the last minute.
You can now start to cook the lentil stew. Add a little olive oil to the pan and set over a medium heat. When you can feel the heat with your hand, add the bed of vegetables.
Stir the vegetables frequently until they just soften, about 8 to 10 minutes, then add the garlic. Stir until the garlic smell rises, about 2 more minutes.
Now add the ham, and cook, stirring, until the fat renders a little and the meat darkens slightly, about 5 minutes.
Now turn up the heat slightly and add the white wine, allowing to it to bubble in the hot pan for a minute or two to help the alcohol burn off. Then add the chopped tomatoes, the paprika, and season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust as needed, then bring just to the boil, before turning down to a simmer. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly – how long will depend on how wet your sauce is, but about another 5 to 8 minutes.
Jake sticks his nose in
You broadly get two types of paprika – ‘sweet’ and ‘hot’, and it can be smoked or unsmoked. For this recipe you want smoked, sweet paprika, ideally Spanish (look for ‘dulce’ – sweet, not ‘picante’ – hot).
While the sauce is reducing, chop the parsley – find out how to do this easily in our Tip.
Next add the drained lentils, and stir. Add a little of the lentils’ cooking liquid; how much will depend on how thick the sauce is. You want to slacken the sauce a little, but you also want the lentil stew to still hold its shape. Also add the parsley, and stir to combine.
Taste again, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Simmer the stew until everything is heated through, and you have a nice rich sauce, about another 5 minutes or so.
While the lentil stew is simmering, finish and dress the salad. Shake the vinaigrette well, then add to the salad, and toss to coat the leaves. Shave over a little more Manchego, and snip over a few more chives.
You are now ready to serve!
This lentil stew makes a healthy, hearty meal, and the freshness of the salad works so well with it. We like to add a crusty roll to mop up the tasty sauce.
¡Buen provecho! Enjoy!
Spanish Lentil Stew with Manchego Lettuce Salad
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Put the lentils in a large sieve and wash thoroughly under the cold tap. Place in a saucepan, and cover well with cold water – by about 5cm. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down. Cover the pan and simmer until the lentils are just tender, but still retain some bite, about 30 minutes.
- While the lentils are cooking, prepare the vegetables. Top & tail and peel the carrots, then chop them into medium dice. Also peel and chop the onion, again into medium dice. See our onion Tip.
- Peel the tomatoes by stabbing them all over with a knife, then soaking in boiling water. See our tomato Tip. Chop roughly, removing the stalk and any tough white core.
- Roughly chop the garlic. See our garlic Tip. We like to add a lot, about 5 or 6 cloves. But if you don't like garlic that much, 2 or 3 will do.
- Roughly chop the ham, removing a little of the white fat if you want it leaner.
- While the lentils are cooking, get ahead on the salad. Make a lemon vinaigrette – follow the steps in our vinaigrette Tip, but replace the vinegar with an equal quantity of lemon juice. Store in the fridge until needed.
- Remove the outer leaves of the lettuce and chop the rest roughly. Discard the stem and the very tip of the green, and place the chopped lettuce in a serving bowl. Shave the Manchego, this is easiest with a potato peeler, and add to the lettuce, reserving some to garnish. Snip over the chives, and again reserve some to serve. Cover the salad and keep in the fridge until needed (do not dress it until you are ready to serve).
- When the lentils are tender, drain them, retaining the cooking liquid for later.
- You are now ready to cook the stew. Add some oil to a large high-sided frying pan or casserole, and set over a medium heat. Add the carrots and onions, and cook until just tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for about another 2 minutes, until the garlic smell rises.
- Add the ham, and cook for about another 5 minutes, until the fat renders and the meat darkens slightly.
- Add the wine, and turn up the heat to help burn off the alcohol. Add the chopped tomatoes, paprika and a seasoning of salt & black pepper. Make sure the sauce is bubbling hot, then turn the heat down and simmer until the sauce thickens, about another 5 to 8 minutes.
- While the sauce is simmering, chop the parsley. See our herb Tip.
- When the sauce has reduced, add the lentils, along with a little of the cooking liquid. You want to slacken the sauce, but still have a thick stew. Add the chopped parsley. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Simmer until everything is warmed through, about another 5 minutes.
- While the stew is simmering, dress the salad. Toss the leaves in the vinaigrette, then shave over some more Manchego. Finish with a few more snipped chives.
- Sever the stew with the salad on the side. A crusty roll is good to mop up the tasty sauce!
- Enjoy!