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Lentils with Potatoes Recipe Elizabeth Rider-3

Easy Healthy Lentils with Potatoes Recipe

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  • Author: Elizabeth Rider
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Main Dish

Description

This Easy Healthy Lentils with Potatoes Recipe is delicious, inexpensive, and easy to make. If you enjoy it, leave a star rating and comment below to share with other readers in our community.


Ingredients

Scale

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 white or yellow onion, finely chopped (use 1/4 of an onion if the onion is extra large)

1 carrot, diced into 1/4-inch pieces

1 stalk celery, diced into 1/4-inch pieces

1 bay leaf

1 medium Yukon gold potato (OR sweet potato if you prefer)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, pressed or grated

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 cup black lentils (OR, 1 cup green or red lentils)

4 cups liquid (I used low-sodium chicken stock)

3/4 teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste depending on your liquid)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Instructions

In a 4- or 5-quart dutch oven or pot, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf and a big pinch of sea salt. Saute 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently until the veggies are soft.

Turn the heat to low. Add the finely chopped or pressed garlic and cumin (or seasoning of your choice). Cook over low heat for about 2-minutes, stirring frequently until the garlic and spices are very fragrant.

Add the chopped potatoes, lentils, 4 cups of liquid, 3/4 teaspoon sea salt (less if using salted stock) and a few turns of freshly cracked black pepper. Bring to a boil (takes about 4-5 minutes), then cover and reduce to a simmer (the low setting on my stove).

Cook for 30-45 minutes until the lentils are soft and the liquid is absorbed. This takes about 35 minutes for green or red lentils, and 45 minutes for black lentils. The pot should be at a gentle rolling simmer. There may be a little liquid left in the pot, just leave it here and the lentils will continue to expand. Watch it carefully towards the end as all of the liquid may evaporate depending on your climate.

Let cool slightly before enjoying. Keeps in the fridge in a covered container up to 5 days. Freezes well up to 3 months.


Notes

To turn this recipe into a soup, use a 6-quart pot. Add an additional 1/2 teaspoon of whatever seasoning you use (cumin, Italian seasoning, etc.), and add 3 more cups of liquid (stock or water) when you add the liquid. If using plain water, also add an additional teaspoon of sea salt. If using stock, add an additional 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. Simmer 45-60 minutes, then puree half or all of the soup depending on what texture you prefer. Adjust the seasoning at the end.