Did you know that in Chile it’s tradition to eat a spoonful of lentils at midnight on New Year’s Eve for a year filled with work and money? I’ve got you covered for this New Year’s Eve with a lentil recipe I brought back from Spain. I promise you’ll want more than just a spoonful.
As some of you know, I spent this past summer studying abroad in Cádiz, Spain and living with a host family. {You can read my Spain travel blog here.} My roommate Erin and I were spoiled rotten because our host mom, Virgina, is an amazing cook. Erin is a vegetarian, so Virginia made sure to always have a great vegetarian soup on hand for our midday lunch before siesta. Even though it was around 100 degrees and there wasn’t A/C, Virginia claimed that warm soups made you feel cooler in the summer. I’m not sure if I agree with her, but these “lentejas” {Spanish for lentils} were so fantastic and unique in their flavor that I ate at least 2 servings each time she made them. Erin also loved them, even though we eventually discovered that Virginia was cooking chicken or chorizo in the lentils and then just pulling it out to serve Erin’s bowl. {Definitely NOT vegetarian!}
This recipe is pretty easy as far as skills go, but does require a bit of chopping, browning, and stirring. It’s not quite as fix-it-and-forget-it as some of my recipes, so be prepared to stay near the stove for a lot of the cook time. I soaked the lentils while I ran some errands this afternoon. I know that lentils are pretty much the only legume you aren’t required to soak, but in dry Colorado any extra moisture helps! The recipe starts with some chorizo sausage {you can swap chicken in for chorizo if you prefer.} Prepare the sausage either in or out of its casing. I prefer the slices you see below, so I cooked it whole and sliced it into medallions.
You dice up your potatoes and carrots. {Don’t you just love this “Obsessive Chef” cutting board my friend J got for me? Totally geek chic.} From there, you add the soaked lentils, chorizo, tomatoes, carrot, potatoes, bay leaves, and salt into a 4 quart pot and add enough water to cover the lentils in the pot. {Don’t try the 2 quart size, trust me, it won’t fit and you’ll have to dump it into a different one.} Bring it all to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let it simmer for 45min-1 hr 15min.
While the lentils start simmering, grab a saute pan {or cast iron dutch oven lid} and pour in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add the garlic and cook it on medium low heat until it picks up a little color. Set the garlic aside and add in the diced onion. Cook the onion down until it’s almost clear, then set aside. At this point, your neighbors might start dropping in to see what smells so incredible.
For the next step, you need the special ingredient that makes this recipe – smoked paprika. This spice is pretty essential to the flavor and is very different from your regular paprika. It has an incredible sweet, mild, smokey flavor and can be found at most specialty spice stores, Amazon.com, and possibly your grocery store depending on where you live. In Spain, they simply call it “Specialisimo” {really special}. I brought back a small packet from Spain and am so glad I did, even if it was pungent enough to make all of my luggage smell of paprika.
The secrets of this incredible flavor can only be unlocked with a bit of heat and moisture. Measure the 1/2 cup of water and put it within quick reach of the stove. Pull the saute pan off the heat and add a splash more oil and the smoked paprika. Put it back on the heat for about 15 seconds while stirring quickly to heat it all, then douse it by pouring the 1/2 cup of water into the pan. Carefully add this water with paprika, the onions, and the garlic to your blender or food processor and blend until it combines into the most heavenly-smelling paste you have ever experienced. I wanted to just eat it by the spoonful.
When the paste is finished, add it to the lentils cooking in the pot and gently stir to completely combine. According to Virginia, this method of making a puree to add is used to strengthen the lentil broth and impart a ton of flavor that would get cooked out if you just added it at the beginning. Continue cooking the lentils until they are soft and the carrots and potatoes are done. You may need to add more water as it cooks off to make sure they don’t dry out. {It’s too low in the photo above.} Remove the bay leaves and serve with a wonderful loaf of warm, crusty bread and your favorite glass of Rioja.
Spanish Lentil Stew (Lentejas)
- Prep Time: 45 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
A replica of a favorite lentil recipe from my trip to Spain.
Ingredients
- 1 lb green lentils, rinsed and (optional) soaked for 1 hour and drained
- 3–6 cups water (or chicken broth) and 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 lb mild chorizo sausage (Spanish chorizo if possible, Mexican if not)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes, diced and drained
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2 medium yellow potatoes, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 3 bay leaves
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 tsp smoked paprika (not your regular paprika)
- olive oil
- a loaf of crusty bread
Instructions
- Prepare the chorizo by either cooking it through as a whole link and slicing into medallions or by removing it from its casing and browning.
- In a large pot, combine lentils, chorizo, tomatoes, carrot, potatoes, bay leaves, and salt. Add enough water to cover the lentils and bring to a gentle boil on the stove before reducing to medium heat.
- Simmer lentils for 45 min. to 1 hr. 15 min. adding more water as needed to keep them covered.
- While the lentils cook, add two tablespoons of olive oil to a saute pan and add the sliced garlic until it picks up some nice color. Remove the garlic from the pan, leaving the oil, and set aside.
- Add the diced onions to the pan and cook on medium low heat until they are translucent. Remove onions and set aside.
- Measure out the remaining 1/2 cup of water and place it near the stove. Lift the pan off the heat, add a splash more oil, and add the smoked paprika. Put the pan back down on the heat for about 15 seconds and stir the paprika around to release the flavor. Immediately pour the water into the pan to prevent paprika from burning.
- In a blender or food processor, add the garlic, onions, and water with smoked paprika. Blend into a paste. (Careful, mixture will be hot.)
- Gently stir this paste into the simmering lentils in the pot on the stove and allow the lentils to finish their cooking time. Lentils will be done when potatoes and carrots are cooked through and the lentils are soft.
Notes
- If you want to save time, you can add the diced onions and garlic in with the lentils at the beginning, but the flavors won’t be as rich and vibrant. This freezes and refrigerates well and is almost better the next day. Serve with a nice loaf of crusty bread. Serves 8.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
Recipe Remix: Leftover stew makes great nachos. Top chips with stew then smother with cheese, microwave to make it melty and top with a dollop of sour cream.
What’s the best recipe you’ve picked up while traveling? Share it in the comments below.
p.s. Here I am with Virginia. 🙂
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Hi Steph, thanks for linking up for your first time at our Marvelous Monday party and I hope you continue to come back. I’ll be pinning this recipe to my MM board. I grew up in an Italian household and my grandma always said to serve ham on NY day so you can live off the fat of the land because if you eat chicken you’ll be scratching all year… I love those sayings and traditions! Have a Happy New Year! Deb
Deb,
Thanks for stopping by! There are so many different traditions out there and I love learning about them each year. I’ve never heard that about eating chicken the first of the year. I’ll have to check my meal plan to make sure we get some ham in there. 😉
This looks delicious. I’ll have to find some smoked paprika and give it a try.
It definitely is! I saw smoked paprika at my grocery store today, so I hope you can find some. Thanks for stopping by!
Found it at World Market!
Awesome! I adore World Market. I always seem to find an ingredient that reminds me of my travels or some new little dish I have to buy for my food prop closet. I could browse there for hours.
Me, too, and I did browse awhile. It’s such a cool place.
Gracias! This is the best recipe I have found so far as I used to live in Spain and have been searching for this lentejas recipe.
De nada! I did make a few concessions to the recipe based on what ingredients I can easily find in America, and the size of my blender. If you want to get super-authentic the lentejas are often cooked in a pressure cooker to speed up the time, the onions go straight into the sofrito instead of being browned first, the tomatoes go in the sofrito fresh as well instead of being roasted from a can, and the chorizo or chicken is cooked in the lentil stew and then sliced or shredded afterwards. These things don’t make much difference in the flavor of the dish (in my opinion), so I’ve chosen to take the easier route. What part of Spain did you live in?
Hi Stephanie!
I worked with a few Spanish people who cooked lentils like this and I got a copy of the recipe but lost it. Your recipe is the closest, (perfect really) I’ve seen online to what I’ve it tasted like. I’ve saved this in my “Make every day forever” folder!
Thanks so much for posting and making!
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe! After loving it so much when I lived in Spain, I knew I just had to share. Glad it’s a keeper for you!
Best lentil stew ever!! I replaced the chorizo with vegan sausages and used fresh tomatoes instead of canned. It was delicious. So comforting. Thank you for the recipe.
Made this today. Amazing! tastes like i remember it. Recommend this 10000%
I’ve had “lentejas” made by family members from Spain, and tried to replicate it many times – I failed miserably UNTIL I found this recipe. It’s next-level amazing and the real key is the smoked paprika/water trick with the puree…definitely take the extra time to do this simple technique, it absolutely makes all the difference! I used brown lentils and it turned out perfectly. Thanks so much for posting, Steph, this is going into my favourite recipes rotation.
fantastic recipe, i subbed green lentils for brown and added green scallions to the onions while browning. i feel like a chef today! thank you for the recipe!!
My grandmother is from Santander. She always finishes her lentejas with paprika simmered in oil……then splashes it on top. The way it boils and sizzles whn dumped from the frying pan on top of the soup VERY AUTHENTIC …..loved the recipe!