Spicy Lentil Chili

My friend, Erin, had brought in a Spicy Red Lentil Chili for me to try the other week and I was blown away by how delicious it was, especially because it was a Wegman’s recipe. I think that’s a grocery store? It’s chock full ‘o lentils and veggies with a kick, so I made it yesterday for my lunches this week. It was very apropos because I went to cheer Christina on in a chili cook-off earlier in the day.

I, of course, put my own signature on the recipe. I have to say, mine was pretty spicy but if you follow the recipe below, you should be okay because I omitted how much Tabasco and chili pepper I actually used. Also, according to the original recipe, each serving is only 140 calories, which I don’t actually believe, but it’s nice to pretend.

In any case, it’s full of nutrients and if you use vegetable stock, it’s vegan, too!

Also, if you can find red lentils, I recommend using those because it looks more like chili instead of split pea soup. Unfortunately, this is all I could find at Whole Foods:

Ingredients:

1 cup green lentils

2 cups + 2 Tbsps water, divided

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium tomato, diced

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 Tbsp Tabasco sauce (if you’re not a fan of spicy, maybe you’re better off using 1 tsp)

¼ tsp turmeric (if you don’t have this, just omit it since it’s not a spice most people have in their pantry)

1 Tbsp cumin

1 tsp chili pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp cornstarch

½ cup finely diced green pepper

Salt to taste

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, add lentils and 2 cups water. When it boils, take half the lentils and liquid and put in food processor and puree. You probably don’t HAVE to do this but it adds a little more oomph to the dish, I think.

Add butter in a large pot and cook onions on medium-low heat. Make sure to keep stirring and keep an eye on it so the onion doesn’t brown. Mine browned

*Also, chop up all the veggies before assembling. It makes it much easier and you’re not racing to cut up the veggies while other things are cooking up.

Every time I hear the sound of chopping on a wooden cutting board (even when it’s ME doing the chopping) it reminds me of home. My mom worked full-time for most of my childhood but she made dinner EVERY night and I always associate sounds of the kitchen with her – especially because my bedroom was right by the kitchen. My favorite was when I woke up hungry and heard the chopping because I knew good food was on it’s way!

Anyway, I digress…

Add garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until the onions are softened. Add tomato.

Here’s another tip for the kitchen: always have a plastic bag handy (the kind you put your produce in at the store) for refuse – especially when you’re cooking with a lot of produce. You don’t have to keep walking back to the garbage can and when you’re done cooking, you can just tie it up and throw it in the trash. This way, it won’t smell up the garbage can! (Thanks, Mommy, for the tip!)

Add chicken stock. Apparently the original recipe said I was supposed to add two cups of water, which I didn’t do and it came out perfectly fine and thick in a lovely way. You can add it if you want, though. Add Tabasco, turmeric, cumin, chili pepper, salt, pepper into the pot and bring to simmer.

Add all the lentils and liquid into the large pot. Cooke about 20 minutes until the lentils are soft.

Mix cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons on water in a small bowl. Once the chili comes to a boil, add cornstarch/water mixture to it. When I added it in the pot, the lentils magically came together and to the top of the pot. MAGIC! Stir for about 30 seconds to thicken it and remove from heat.

Add the green peppers and season with salt to taste.

I added some plain Greek yogurt to the chili, which was a very good decision, because, again, I added a LOT more Tabasco sauce than the recipe called for. The verdict? DELICIOUS. I cannot wait to eat this for the rest of the week

Here’s another little tip I learned from my mom – always have cut up fruit and veggies in the fridge. I obviously did not appreciate this growing up but now that I eat healthier fare, it’s so convenient! Broccoli is my go-to vegetable now and I buy a bunch every week. On Sundays, I cut them up, blanch them, and store in a tupperware.

When you cut them up, there’s no need to take the rubberband off of the broccoli. Just use a smaller knife and cut off the florets at the bottom of the base.

Drop it into the collander, blanch it for about a minute in boiling water, and drain!

Tags: greek yogurt, lentil chili, lentils, tabasco