Recipe of the Week, Launch!

...or Curried Sweet Potato and Lentil Stew.

I am absolutely obsessed with food. Eating it, cooking it, learning about where it comes from and how it is made. So I decided it would be a great idea to start a regular recipe of the week post. Sometimes they will be recipes of my own creation, sometimes ones straight out of a cookbook or from online. Mostly they will probably be somewhere in between.

I thought I would start off with an easy slow cooker recipe. This week our recipe comes from Betty Crocker Easy Everyday Vegetarian.
I have serious problems with this cookbook, but I am not going to go on a tirade about it because it was a highly appreciated gift. The recipe is as follows, however I made some adjustments as I started cooking with significantly less core ingredients than I had previously thought. The changes I made are marked.

Curried Sweet Potato and Lentil Stew

Prep Time 15 Minutes : Cook Time 8 hours : Servings 6

Ingredients:

2 cups peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces¹
1 Kabocha squash, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces²
1 small onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper³
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper⁴
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger⁵
1 teaspoon minced garlic⁶
32 oz (4 cups) vegetable broth⁷
1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt

1. In a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker⁸, mix sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and lentils⁹.

2. In a sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, ginger and garlic. Cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and cayenne pepper. Pour mixture into slow cooker; stir.

3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting for 5 hours¹⁰.

4. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook for 3 hours.

5. Serve topped with yogurt.

We enjoyed this recipe and it was incredibly easy, as most slow cooker recipes are. I did sustain my first cooking injury in quite some time, but they serve blood in China anyway. Hope you enjoy it as well. If there are any questions, please feel free to ask.



Notes:
1 The recipe called for 3 cups, but I only had 2.
2 If you don't know what Kabocha squash is or have never had it, you should. It is a Japanese winter squash that is absolutely delicious. If you buy it organic, you don't have to peel it. If not organic then peel it before you eat it.
3 The original recipe didn't call for this, but we are a spicy household. The end stew was not spicy at all, so add more if you want a kick.
4 I have never in my life measured out 1/4 of a teaspoon, but in case you are a precise type of cook, I left it there.
5 The original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon finely chopped gingerroot. We didn't have any, so I substituted the ground.
6 I use pre-minced garlic a lot because it is so convenient and easy. If you have fresh garlic, please use it. This is equivalent to 1 clove, but you can never have too much garlic.
7 The original recipe called for a 14oz can of vegetable broth. Broth is one of the easiest things to have homemade, you should never waste money on store-bought broth. I had a frozen 16 oz container that I used, but once I put it in there it didn't seem like enough. So I added another one.
8 I used a 5 1/2 quart crock pot.
9 There was a debate over whether or not the lentils were cooked to the proper consistency. In stews, I prefer my lentils firm. If you would prefer your lentils softer or mushy, you might want to consider putting the lentils in the bottom and not mixing them up. This way they will stay in the broth the entire cooking time.
10 With the original ingredient of carrots, rather than Kabocha squash, you are supposed to cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. They also add green beans at this point and turn on high for about 15 minutes or until green beans are crisp-tender. Make sure you adjust depending on which ingredients you choose to use.