Chorizo and Lentil Stew

I've been meaning to make this recipe for awhile now (about two weeks, I'd say), but life kept getting in the way. And by life, I really mean "being sick and not feeling like doing dishes."

Anyway. Aric and I decided that we wanted to try chorizo, so we bought some, then looked up a few recipes. As always, I try to sneak lentils in there, because I love the taste (and lentil is a fun word to say). I also have a stash of dried lentils sitting in the cupboard, begging to be used.

Chorizo and Lentil Stew

INGREDIENTS
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, sliced
* 3/4 pound bulk chorizo sausage
* 5 ribs celery, sliced
* 1 cup dried lentils
* 3 cups water
* 1 teaspoon ground dried turmeric
* 1 teaspoon curry powder
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS
1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic, and cook until it turns golden brown, about 45 seconds. Add the chorizo sausage; cook and stir until the sausage is crumbly and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in celery, and cook until the celery softens, about 4 minutes more.
2. Pour off any excess grease from the sausage, then add the lentils and water. Season with turmeric, curry powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.


This is a pretty decent recipe. I cut the celery too big, so it didn't break down as much as I would have liked.

I think I would throw some chopped onion in there next time. It just needed a little something extra.

Also, I might try this with brown lentils. I used red lentils, since the recipe didn't specify. The red lentils work, but I find that when I cook red lentils, they break down very quickly - I simmered this for about fifteen minutes, as opposed to the recommended 40, and the stew ended up very pasty. The lentils lost their shape and almost disintegrated.

When all is said and done, though, it was tasty, filling, and went well with the loaf of French bread sitting in the cupboard, begging to be eaten. I also suspect that this will freeze nicely.