Moroccan Lentil Stew, a budget friendly and healthy family meal made in under an hour!
This week I’m bringing you a couple of my favorite “family meals in under an hour” recipes. I realize it’s very challenging for working families to put a home cooked meal on the table each and every night. It’s not easy, however meal planning helps A LOT and I totally recommend it. Start by finding a few recipes that are easy to make, the whole family enjoys and are economical. Over time you will build up your recipe library and you can rotate them through the weeks. This Moroccan stew recipe is made a few times a month in my family and has been for a few years now…and we’re still not sick of it! I’m not sure where my sister-in-law originally found it, but we’ve altered it a lot through the years. In fact, we alter it almost every time we make it! It’s a very versatile stew, you can include all sorts of vegetables or grains and it will still taste good!
My mom adds pasta or orzo however, I didn’t add it this time to keep it gluten-free. I sometimes add brown rice or serve on top of warm quinoa.
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup green lentils, rinsed
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (or 1½ cup cooked chickpeas)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅓ cup raisins or currants
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- extra fresh cilantro and lemon wedge for garnish
- Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent.
- Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Add celery and carrots and sauté until tender crisp.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until lentils are tender.
- Add sea salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove cinnamon stick, top with fresh cilantro leaves and lemon wedge and enjoy!
