I'm quite surprised that I haven't posted this recipe sooner. I had to scroll through my previous posts (and there are a lot of them!) just to make sure that I wasn't mistaken. Maybe I had already done one and just couldn't remember? (This happens a lot more the older I get unfortunately.) But nope, I hadn't. So here you go and you are welcome. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! Did I mention I love this recipe? Because I really do. And why do I love it so much you ask? Well you may have noticed when reading through other blog posts here that I have a "thing" for lentils. Just an innocent little crush on them. Yup. I just find them so versatile, easy to cook with, a cheap and nutritious food staple, and best of all, darn tasty. The second reason I love this recipe so much? It's super easy to make, barely any chopping required (my nemesis) AND it's all done in one pot making clean up quick and painless. 

But the main reason why I love this dish so much? The Berbere Spice Blend. My love affair with this spice blend began a few years ago when I was given a cookbook, "Jerusalem" by Ottolenghi (perhaps you've heard of him? lol.) His recipes tend to call for a lot of exotic spices that I had never used and quite honestly most I had never heard of. (To be fair I grew up in a very very small town in the 1970's/1980's, and my favourite "flavour" was ketchup which I doused everything in whole heartedly. Loved it on plain white bread. So there's that.) I threw myself into that cookbook and decided to place a significant spice order to a company out in Calgary. I hate to sound overly dramatic (but I will): this changed my world, at least in the sense of cooking new dishes, using new spices, tasting new flavours. Cardamom pods: Perfect with chicken and rice. Ras el hanout: Love it as a rub on leg of lamb. Turkish Baharat: Superb on veggies or roast chicken.  Za'atar Seasoning: Delicious Manakish. And Ethiopian Berbere: Darn delicious in and on pretty much everything such as this lentil stew. It rouses your taste buds out of their usual dull stupor of blandness, and hits them with a wonderful spicy heat. Which is why I only add in a bit at a time now and season to taste. The first time I made this particular recipe I had added the full 2 tbsps of Berbere plus a wee bit of cayenne pepper (as recommended by the recipe I had followed.) Yowzer! I had taken it to work for lunch. I'm sure my co-workers were wondering what the heck was wrong with me as I sat there with my eyes watering, nose running and a bead of sweat running down my temple. But it was delicious and I polished off that bowl despite it all. My taste buds weren't quite ready for what I hit them with that day and I've learned that I need to ease them in gently. 

So there you have it. One of my most favourite dishes and I hope you'll love it as much as I do. As you can see from my ingredients list, I don't often measure stuff anymore, I will usually just do a heaping spoonful of something. I have on several occasions thrown some other veggies in as well: I recommend sweet peppers if you have any. You can also substitute in sweet potatoes if you wish. Don't be restricted by what's listed in the recipe. Follow your gut instincts... my recipes are heavily influenced by what I need to use up in the fridge. And what spices I have a craving for. Be wild and crazy. Just go light on the Berbere at first if you're a newbie to spicy heat. Thankfully my sense of taste has matured as I've gotten older...I hardly ever use ketchup now...except maybe on hash browns, fries, eggs, hamburgers, grilled cheese... I no longer use it as a spread for plain white bread. Progress!

Stay happy, stay safe, stay healthy. Cheer from Bistro 164!

Spicy Berbere Lentil Stew

based on a recipe from Connoisseurus Veg Blog

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• spoonful of jarred minced ginger
• spoonful of jarred minced garlic
• 1-2 tbsps of Berbere spice blend (I usually just start with 1 tbsp at first...you can always add more if you like more heat.)
• 4 cups of veggie broth (I had some chickpea broth left over when I used the IP to cook up some dried chickpeas for another dish- one of my favourite types of broth!)
• 1 1/2 cups of dried split red lentils
• 1- 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (the original recipe uses a 14 oz can but I tend to only get the bigger sized ones...have never found it too liquidy using the bigger cans)
• Some diced potatoes...about 3 medium potatoes worth. (The original recipe uses red potatoes, but you can use whatever you have on hand. I used fingerling potatoes this time and I've also used canned potatoes when that's all that I've had in the pantry.)
• 3 cups or so of fresh spinach. (You can use baby spinach, or canned or frozen works fine in a pinch as well. )
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Get out a large pot and add in your olive oil. Heat to medium then toss in your onions. Sauté until the onions are nice and soft, usually around 5 minutes or so. Add in the garlic, ginger and Berbere spice and sauté for another minute.

Add in the broth, lentils, potatoes and tomatoes and simmer everything over a medium heat until the potatoes are cooked through. Usually takes 30-45 minutes depending on how big you've diced your potatoes. 

Toss in the spinach and cook until wilted, 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add in more Berbere if you like more heat. Serve warm.