Spiced Beef-Lentil Stew
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!
Servings 6 servings
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
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- Adjust the heat to medium. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat, until all traces of pink have disappeared.
- Add all the spices and salt and continue to heat until well mixed and fragrant. Stir in the arrowroot flour.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add the lentils. Simmer gently until the lentils are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Stir in cilantro.
- Serve over basmati rice.
- Delicious with chutney of any type, such as this raisin chutney.