Vegan Recipe - Red Beans & Lentils

Red Beans & Lentils
This month’s dish is my own creation. It is a hearty stew full of flavor and warmth … perfect for a cool autumn supper.

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups red kidney beans
1/2 onion (small), diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 Cup lentils, washed
1 Can tomatoes with juice
1 heaping Tablespoon Taco Seasoning (or to your taste)
1 bay leaf
1 pinch turmeric
Chopped cilantro (optional, to your taste … I use about 1/4 cup)
Water as needed

Method

• Sort and wash the kidney beans. Cook using a pressure cooker (cooking instructions and times can be found HERE). Allow the pressure cooker to release naturally (quick release methods will break the beans). If you don’t want to use a pressure cooker, you can cook the beans using this METHOD (allow an extra 2 1/2 hours). If you prefer to use canned beans, rinse them and set aside.
• While the beans are cooking, sauté’ the onions, garlic and green pepper in a little water for about 10 minutes (onions should look translucent).
• Add the lentils and remaining ingredients. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and gently simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add in the red beans and enough water to cover (more if you prefer a more soupy consistency).
• Cook for an additional 15 minutes.
• Adjust seasoning and serve.

Notes

• I prefer to cook beans using a pressure cooker. If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you do so. It takes minutes (rather than hours), reducing the amount of energy required.
• Soaking beans improves their nutrition, digestibility and texture. I recommend soaking them for 24 hours but any amount of soaking time will benefit them. If you don’t have time to soak them, simply cook them until done.
• While canned beans will work in this recipe, I encourage you to buy dried beans … the flavor is better and you control the texture and ingredients. If you do use canned beans, be sure to rinse them well to get rid of added sodium and/or preservatives.
• If you don’t like lentils, substitute textured soy protein. To prepare the protein for use, “wash” it (cover with water to hydrate, then drain off the water and squeeze out any moisture). Wash three times and then use in place of the lentils.

I hope that you’ll give this dish a try!

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