Happy Hearted Kitchen: French Market Vegetable + Lentil Stew
To help get us through the holiday craziness, Canadian food blogger Jodi from Happy Hearted Kitchen is sharing one of her favorite hearty vegan dishes for the winter. It’s simple, quick and affordable too! Jodi currently lives in the spectacular French Alps and most of the traditional dishes up there are loaded with cheese; however, she enjoys browsing the fresh local markets filled with seasonal veggies in search of her next inspiration. Get bundled up and get ready for Jodi from Happy Hearted Kitchen’s delicious vegan French Market Vegetable Lentil Stew, loaded with carrots, fennel, leeks and French de puy lentils.
If there is one thing that I absolutely love about living in France it would be the markets. The culture of grabbing your basket and heading down to the market to stock up on a week’s worth of fruits and vegetables is one that I adapted to quite quickly.
I knew I wanted to do something with lentils for this post, but I wasn’t sure where to go from there. Last week I wandered down to the market to get some inspiration, I picked up some carrots and leeks and a few other winter roots. There was an elderly man behind me, and he commented on the big green leeks overflowing from my basket, he said that a good leek soup was on his menu tonight too. We had a brief exchange about winter vegetables, soups and a few comments about the weather before we parted ways. A few minutes later, we crossed paths again at the boulangerie, and we had a good little chuckle as we agreed that a good soup is nothing without some good bread. “Ce qui est simple est bon!”
This recipe is a staple come winter in my kitchen. It is usually thrown together with whatever bits and bobs of vegetables are left over from last week’s market. It’s hearty, warm and pure comfort in a bowl. I like to throw in a lot of cumin for some extra warmth. Made with all local, seasonal produce, it’s a budget friendly vegan meal that everyone with love!
Bon Appétit!
I hope you enjoy this happy hearted recipe, thank you Rika for giving me the chance to share it all with you!
Happy holidays to you all,
J x
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil, for the pot 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 yellow onion, diced 3 medium leeks, white light green parts only, chopped 1 bulb fennel, cored and chopped 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped 1½ cups French De Puy Lentils, or lentils of choice (cooking times may vary) 1½ tablespoons ground cumin A few sprigs fresh thyme 3 bay leaves 4-5 cups low sodium organic vegetable stock, 4 stalks curly kale, stems removed and greens thinly sliced Salt pepper, to tasteMethod
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onions and leeks and sautée until soft, then add fennel and cook for a few minutes. Add a bit a water to the pot if things get too dry.
Add carrots and potatoes and stir everything together. Next add lentils, spiced and herbs and stir so that the lentils are well coated.
Season with a bit of salt and pepper, stir, then add just enough stock to cover. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until lentils are cooked and vegetables are soft, about 30 minutes. Add more stock/water if needed, I like it to be on the thicker side. Stir in the kale at the very end, and allow it the soften before removing from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, and of course, some good multi grain bread!
Notes
If you can't find De Puy Lentils, use any other green lentil variety. I like to soak lentils for at least an hour before cooking, or overnight if possible. Drain and rinse well before cooking.
The most labor intensive part of this dish is washing, peeling, and chopping of all the vegetables, so I like to get that out of the way first. Try to chop everything relatively the same size.
Serve with crusty bread of choice.
About Happy Hearted Kitchen
Hi, I’m Jodi from Happy Hearted Kitchen. A Canadian girl born and raised now living in the French Alps. I have always been interested in food and cooking, but only in the last few years have a found a real passion for it and for filling my kitchen with whole, healthy, plant based ingredients. I like to use local, seasonal ingredients as much as I can, and find inspiration for recipes at our local market. Living in the Alps, I get out and explore the mountains as much as I can with my handsome mountain man partner in life. He plans the activities and I bring the snacks, we make a pretty good team. Explore, eat, sleep, repeat.
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