Caramelized Vegetable Lentil Stew
A comforting, deeply savory vegetarian stew built on deeply browned aromatics, hearty root vegetables, and tender red lentils. Finished with fresh peas, orange juice, and a dollop of zesty garlic-citrus yogurt, it delivers rich, meat-like depth without any actual meat.
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🍳 Cooking Flow
Steep dried mushrooms in hot water to make mushroom tea. → Caramelize onions, garlic, celery, and chilis with star anise, deglazing frequently with water. → Cook tomato paste, butter, and flour with carrots, then deglaze with Cognac. → Add minced mushrooms, strained mushroom tea, rinsed lentils, potatoes, spices, herbs, and water; simmer covered until tender. → Uncover, season with soy sauce and spices, stir in peas and orange juice, and serve topped with citrus-garlic yogurt.
Cooking Steps
Brief Cooking Order
Steep dried mushrooms in hot water to make mushroom tea. → Caramelize onions, garlic, celery, and chilis with star anise, deglazing frequently with water. → Cook tomato paste, butter, and flour with carrots, then deglaze with Cognac. → Add minced mushrooms, strained mushroom tea, rinsed lentils, potatoes, spices, herbs, and water; simmer covered until tender. → Uncover, season with soy sauce and spices, stir in peas and orange juice, and serve topped with citrus-garlic yogurt.
Introduction
A comforting, deeply savory vegetarian stew built on deeply browned aromatics, hearty root vegetables, and tender red lentils. Finished with fresh peas, orange juice, and a dollop of zesty garlic-citrus yogurt, it delivers rich, meat-like depth without any actual meat.
Step 1
Steep dried porcini mushrooms in a few cups of boiling hot water to create a rich mushroom tea; set aside.
Step 2
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Slice onions into wedges and add to the pot along with the star anise pods, stirring frequently to brown.
Step 3
Smash and peel all the garlic cloves from a whole head (saving half a raw clove for the garnish). Add smashed cloves to the caramelizing onions.
Step 4
Chop the celery stalks (reserving leaves for garnish) and finely slice the red chilis. Stir both into the pot. Periodically deglaze the bottom of the pot with small splashes of water to scrape up browned fond.
Step 5
Chop carrots into large chunks and add to the pot. Clear a space in the center, drop in the butter, tomato paste, and flour, stirring the mixture into a rough roux until fragrant and toasted.
Ingredients List
Important Notes
Repeated deglazing with small splashes of water while browning the aromatics is crucial to build deep color without burning the fond.
Turn off the burner before pouring in the Cognac to prevent flare-ups.
When pouring the steeped mushroom liquid, leave the bottom layer behind to avoid any gritty sand from dried wild mushrooms.
Whole, unhulled brown or green lentils hold their shape better than split red lentils during long cooking, though split red lentils create a wonderfully thick, porridge-like stew base.
Waxy potato varieties (such as new or fingerling potatoes) are best because they hold their shape without turning to mush.
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