My second attempt at cooking lentils and I really don’t know why I don’t make them more often, especially in winter. This is a variation of a recipe I found in Janet Mendel’s Cooking In Spain. Any kind of sausage can be used, or even left out for a vegetarian version, as lots of nice fresh veg also goes into this stew.

Photo of finished product and recipe below the links.

• 1/2 kilo quick cooking brown lentils
• 2 litres boiling water
• 400 grams longhaniza rojo sausages (skinny chorizo)
• 1 head of garlic cloves, peeled & sliced lengthwise in half
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 italian green peppers, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped (or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes)
• 1 tsp each of sea salt, black pepper, cumin and pimentón dulce (la chinata is best)
• olive oil

Cook the sausages in a large saucepan, then chop up and put aside, reserving some of the juices from the pan. Sauté the onions, peppers and  garlic in a bit of olive oil until onions are translucent. Set aside.

In a large pot add the lentils to boiling salted water and stir well. Then add the carrots, tomatoes, sautéed veg, sausage and spices. Mix well, cover and simmer on low heat for about an hour and a half, stirring frequently. Add the reserved pan juices for extra flavour if desired.