Description
A flavorful and healthy lentil dish perfect for any meal!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups dried brown or green lentils, rinsed and picked over
- 4 tsp. minced garlic
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced medium
- 1 T ground chile powder
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, not drained
- 2 tsp. cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. granulated Monkfruit sweetener
- 1 cup diced green olives
- 1 cup or more lentil cooking water
- 1 T Green Tabasco Sauce, plus more for serving if desired
- 2 T green olive brine
Instructions
- Pick over the lentils to remove any that look too dark or too light, rinse the lentils and put them in a medium-sized saucepan.
- Add minced garlic, salt, and 6 cups hot water, and bring lentils to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook uncovered until lentils are soft, about 20-25 minutes. (If you have old lentils that have been in the pantry a while they may take significantly longer to cook, so try some to see when they’re done.)
- When lentils are soft, drain them into a colander placed over a bowl or large measuring cup to catch the liquid.
- While lentils cook, chop the onion, bell pepper, and green olives.
- Heat oil in a heavy dutch oven type pan that’s large enough to hold all the stew.
- Add the onions and sauté over medium-high heat until onions are just starting to brown.
- Add the minced garlic, diced bell pepper, chile powder, and oregano, and cook 3-4 minutes more.
- Add diced tomatoes and juice, tomato sauce, cocoa powder, Monkfruit Sweetener or sweetener of your choice, and diced green olives and simmer about 10 minutes.
- Then add cooked lentils and 1 cup or more of lentil cooking water, and simmer 20-25 minutes more on low heat.
- Stir in the Green Tabasco Sauce and green olive juice as desired.
- Serve the Vegan Picadillo hot, topped with a generous dash of green Tabasco sauce if desired.
- If you don’t care about the recipe being vegan, this is also good with Greek yogurt or sour cream.
Notes
- Ground chile powder can be adjusted based on desired spice level.
- Granulated Monkfruit sweetener can be substituted with any other sweetener if desired.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 600mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Fiber: 15g
- Protein: 15g
- Cholesterol: 0mg