Sweet and spicy lentil chili
Sweet and spicy lentil chili
I wasn't sure I'd like this recipe because of the quantity of molasses in it, but it's actually very good. The recipe is from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. (An excellent cookbook. I recommend checking out the author's blog here.) I ate it with natchos.
The recipe called for brown lentils (which take longer to cook and hold their shape) but I didn't have any so I used red lentils (which cook quickly and typically break down). Oddly, when I got home ~9 hours after I'd started the slow cooker, the lentils were still a bit chumpy. I ate some anyway after it had been cooking ~10 hours, but let it continue simmering until I went to bed. By then (14-15 hours of cooking), it was thicker and the lentils were tender. It's possible my lentils are old, but next time I'll try soaking them to see if that helps. The acid in the tomatoes and the molasses will tend to encourage the lentils to hold their shape, but it's still surprising they didn't cook fully in that time.
I do not recommend cooking this recipe on high because the molasses will tend to burn around the edges.
vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped (I left this out as I had none)
1 Tbsp. chili powder (I mixed my own by grinding whole dried chiles, cumin and oregano together)
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 large can tomatoes, crushed
salt and pepper
2 tsp. vegetarian beef broth powder
2 cups water or vegetable broth
1 cup apple juice (I added another cup of water as I had no apple juice)
1 1/2 cups brown lentils or red lentils
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses (rinse out the measuring cup with vegetable oil before measuring. I just tossed the extra oil in the slow cooker -- not much fat in this recipe.)
Cook the vegetables in the oil until soft. Add the spices and cook briefly. Pour the mixture into the slow cooker insert. Add some of the water to the pan and scrape up any tasty bits. Add the water and all the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker insert. Stir to combine. Cook on low for 8-15 hours, or until thickened and the lentils are tender.
I wasn't sure I'd like this recipe because of the quantity of molasses in it, but it's actually very good. The recipe is from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. (An excellent cookbook. I recommend checking out the author's blog here.) I ate it with natchos.
The recipe called for brown lentils (which take longer to cook and hold their shape) but I didn't have any so I used red lentils (which cook quickly and typically break down). Oddly, when I got home ~9 hours after I'd started the slow cooker, the lentils were still a bit chumpy. I ate some anyway after it had been cooking ~10 hours, but let it continue simmering until I went to bed. By then (14-15 hours of cooking), it was thicker and the lentils were tender. It's possible my lentils are old, but next time I'll try soaking them to see if that helps. The acid in the tomatoes and the molasses will tend to encourage the lentils to hold their shape, but it's still surprising they didn't cook fully in that time.
I do not recommend cooking this recipe on high because the molasses will tend to burn around the edges.
vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped (I left this out as I had none)
1 Tbsp. chili powder (I mixed my own by grinding whole dried chiles, cumin and oregano together)
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 large can tomatoes, crushed
salt and pepper
2 tsp. vegetarian beef broth powder
2 cups water or vegetable broth
1 cup apple juice (I added another cup of water as I had no apple juice)
1 1/2 cups brown lentils or red lentils
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses (rinse out the measuring cup with vegetable oil before measuring. I just tossed the extra oil in the slow cooker -- not much fat in this recipe.)
Cook the vegetables in the oil until soft. Add the spices and cook briefly. Pour the mixture into the slow cooker insert. Add some of the water to the pan and scrape up any tasty bits. Add the water and all the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker insert. Stir to combine. Cook on low for 8-15 hours, or until thickened and the lentils are tender.