Veggie Campaign

The march through various vegetarian entrees continues.  Come to think of it, this recipe is not just vegetarian, but also vegan (no animal products whatsoever).  Would my meat-eating husband give this lentil stew approval?  You betcha.

 

Winter Vegetable Stew (from CookingLight.com)

• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups dried lentils
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, chopped into chunks
• 1 1/2 cups chopped and peeled celeriac (celery root)
• 1 cup diced parsnip
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic-from-a-jar
• 2/3 cup dry red wine
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

 

Yep, I know what you're thinking- what the heck is celeriac?  I was wondering the same thing, standing in front of the produce wall at Cub, looking at 30 different leafy things.  Thanks Wikipedia-on-the-cell-phone for the pic. 

 

-Combine water, lentils, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bay leaf in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.
-Heat olive oil in a medium cast iron pot (love my le creuset) over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, celeriac, parsnip, carrot, and 1 1/2 teaspoons tarragon, and saute 10 minutes or until browned (it seemed to take my batch about 20 minutes).
-Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, tomato paste, and garlic; cook mixture 1 minute.  Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, or until veggies are tender.  Stir in mustard.  Add lentils and simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat; discard bay leaf.  Stir in remaining tarragon and add pepper to taste.

 

 

You could really use a variety of veggies here- potatoes or rutabagas would be great as well.
Makes 6 servings.  Per serving: 415 calories, 65 g carbs, 6 g fat, 13 g fiber, 23 g protein.  Yeah baby.