Red Wine Braised Lentils with Mushrooms & Rosemary

 Recipe Difficulty: Easy

Recipe Tags:

• Red Wine Braised Lentils
• Mushrooms
• Mashed Potatoes
• Vegan Stew
• Comfort Food
• Easy Vegan Recipes
• Vegan Holiday Recipes

Red Wine Braised Lentils Recipe Notes

These Red wine braised lentils are like a warm hug. Perfect healthy comfort food for the cooler months. There is so much richness and depth happening for a simple pot of lentils.  Lentils and Mushrooms are simmered with mirepoix, lots of garlic, red wine, rosemary, smoked paprika, a few other ingredients for complexity and finished with green peas and a touch of vegan butter. I really like the addition of peas but if that isn't your thing you can leave them out. I use brown or green lentils, whatever I happen to have on hand works. 

This dish is delicious if you just take a taste out of the pot, but I don't find the flavour profile complete until it is served with rich mashed potatoes. That's when the magic really happens. So I guess I'm saying, don't skip that part, and this isn't the time to avoid a bit of added fat from vegan butter and sour cream in your taters either. (I don't think of fat as a bad thing anyhow. I might not want to eat rich things like this every single day, but when you are literally eating a whole food plant-based diet every single day with very little added sugar, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, adding some fat once in a while is no big deal, it isn't the enemy. I used to say, make sure to keep the lentils al dente, but honestly, by the third day I was reheating it, the peas lost their bright green hue, the lentils had softened a bit...and it was delicious. So, like most soups and stews, I think this gets better with a bit of time. 

I definitely can see myself playing around with the recipe. Maybe sometime make something similar with more mushrooms and less lentils but flavoured the same way. I can't see it being bad with other herbs, I like rosemary in this context, but fresh thyme would undoubtedly be good too. 

Don't skip the Mashed Potatoes
I boiled yellow potatoes in salted water, strained, and then mashed them with vegan butter, minced garlic, chopped scallions and s&p. The amount of potatoes you would need for this whole recipe probably depends on the person. Just for reference, into 2 lbs 13 oz of potatoes (almost 3 lbs) I mashed in 1/2 cup melt organic vegan butter, 3 cloves minced garlic, and two chopped scallions. Season with s&p to taste. You'd probably need more than that for all the stew.  A 5 lb bag of potatoes would likely do the trick. The garlic and onion adds a lot to the finished dish in my opinion so I personally wouldn't leave it out.  

Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Serve with different sides of vegetables. I made a grated carrot salad with raisins and pecans, and I also roasted green beans with olive oil, S&P. 

Red Wine Braised Lentils Recipe

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil 
• 4 cups sliced mushrooms
• 2 large spanish onions, diced
• 2 carrots, diced (less if they are ginormous) 
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 12 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp smoked paprika 
• 6 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups dried lentils (green or brown)
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 8 cups veg stock
• 2 tsp minced rosemary
• 2 -4 tbsp maple syrup (to taste)
• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• 2 tsp soy sauce 
• a small splash of good quality balsamic vinegar 
• 1 cup frozen peas 
• s & p

Method:

1. In a cast iron pan, heat a bit of extra virgin olive oil. When the pan is hot, add mushrooms. Cook until golden brown. Set aside.
2. In a pot heat a swirl of olive oil over medium heat. Sweat onion, carrot & celery until softened. Add garlic and cook 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with S & P
3. Add tomato paste & smoked paprika. Cook while stirring for 1 minute.
4. Add red wine and browned mushrooms. Cook until wine is reduced.
5. Now add dried lentils, veg stock rosemary and season with more S & P
6. Simmer until lentils are cooked and liquid is reduced and thickened. (Lentils should be soft but still have some texture)
7. Now I taste and add maple, soy sauce, balsamic.  It's really just personal preference and trying to create a bit of balance and complexity by adding a small amount of these ingredients. Start with less and add a bit more if you like it.
8. Add vegan butter & frozen peas. Simmer awhile longer. 
9. Serve over buttery mashed potatoes. Garnish with fresh parsley, and more minced rosemary if desired.