Spiced Beef-Lentil Stew

This One-Pot Spiced Beef-Lentil Stew is exotic yet so soothing. It has the intense flavors of Persian and Moroccan cuisine: vegetables and beef with cinnamon, cumin and ginger. Just close your eyes and imagine palm trees next to your table!

And if you already DO have palm trees next to your table, it should taste even better!

The “why” of some ingredients

This is the second in a series of meals I devised to fit in with an elimination diet for my daughter-in-law. No wheat, dairy, corn, soy, sugar, onions, garlic, or cabbage relatives. As with the Chicken Black Rice Zucchini Soup, the hidden hero in the recipe is asafetida.

To soak or not to soak?

Lentils absorb flavors beautifully and cook much more quickly than other legumes. Still, you could soak these and even pre-cook them if you want to speed up the meal process, especially if you are at high altitude. Though I didn’t use my Instant Pot for this dish, you could.

I used green lentils for this recipe, but red lentils cook even faster and will thicken the stew more than the green. 

A spontaneous meal

This meal was also inspired by what I had on hand on a snowy day a week or so ago. With six inches of snow in the forecast, I didn’t want to go shopping. Beef and lentils in my kitchen? Beef and lentils it is!

The raisin chutney that I served with this also came from what I had on hand: raisins, ginger and a few other odds and ends. It was pronounced tasty by even my pickier eater!! He said, all you need is sweet, sour and ginger, right? The easy recipe is here.

Spiced Beef-Lentil Stew

• Author: Beth
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Category: Main Dish, Stew
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Mediterranean

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Description

This One-Pot Spiced Beef-Lentil Stew is exotic yet soothing. And I made it with what I had in the house during a snowstorm! It has the intense flavors of Persian and Moroccan cuisine: vegetables and beef with cinnamon, coriander, cumin and ginger. Yum!

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

1 cup lentils, rinsed and sorted (soaked for at least an hour)

2 cups water

2 Tablespoonfuls olive oil

2 carrots, minced

1 pound ground beef, preferably grass-fed

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon coriander

½ teaspoon asafetida (read about asafetida)

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon ginger, dried (or 1 teaspoon fresh)

1 tablespoon arrowroot or tapioca powder

2 ½ teaspoons salt (pink sea salt)

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 cup beef broth

½ cup cilantro leaves

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Instructions

1. If you are going to pre-cook the lentils after soaking, bring the water to a boil, then add the soaked lentils. Cook until the lentils are just tender, about 20 minutes. Add at step #6. 
2. Heat the olive oil over low heat in a dutch oven. Cook the carrots at a slow simmer until just becoming tender, 5-8 minutes.
3. Adjust the heat to medium. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat, until all traces of pink have disappeared.
4. Add all the spices and salt and continue to heat until well mixed and fragrant. Stir in the arrowroot flour.
5. Pour in the diced tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the lentils. Simmer gently until the lentils are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.
7. Stir in cilantro.
8. Serve over basmati rice.
9. Delicious with chutney of any type, such as this raisin chutney. 

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Keywords: Main dish, lentil stew, dutch oven meal, one-pot meal, elimination diet, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free