Monday Night Bean and Potato Stew

EdsGirlAngie's Note:

I created this soup one night when I was craving something warm, healthy and comforting, but a little different. This is a simple, hearty soup flavored with cumin and saffron; the broth is made rich and nutritious by using the potato cooking water. It's excellent served with a little yogurt or sour cream on the side, or with some cheesy garlic bread.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 5 cups water
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon saffron
• 1 (8 ounce) can kidney beans

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes in 5 cups of liberally salted water until just tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, saute onion and garlic in a little olive oil until browned a bit.
3. Set aside.
4. Return to the potatoes: while still boiling, add tomato sauce, lentils, cumin, black pepper, and saffron.
5. Add browned onions and garlic; lower heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes or until lentils are tender but not mushy.
6. Stir in kidney beans, heat through, correct seasoning, and serve.

Reviews

[Sylvie Fortin]

This was wonderful, and very inexpensive! I changed it slightly, just because I had more of some things on hand and wanted to use them up. I used double the water, double the potatoes, double the lentils, tripled the onions, and used my own kidney beans, cooked from scratch. As for the spices, I added curry powder, ground coriander, and turmeric...to give it a bit more East Indian flavor. I also added carrots and didn't end up using the tomatoes. All in all, the full soup pot cost me maybe two dollars max, and made three meals! As a single mom, I'm always looking for ways to feed the kiddos on a budget, and this definitely did the trick. I served the stew in a big bowl, with a scoop of basmati rice on top, and a big chunk of homemade bread alongside it. What a treat! Thanks for posting this great recipe!

[j.a.c.k.]

This smells fantastic, its still cooking and I know it will taste good. I added the carrots like some others have suggested and used tomato paste instead of sauce.

[bekbek]

Thanks for the inspiration -- this recipe was great even though I didn't follow it exactly! Using the cooking water as a broth was a great idea. I doubled the onion, tripled the garlic, substituted tomato paste for tomato sauce and chickpeas for kidney beans, and omitted the saffron. I added carrots, halved the cumin, and added 1/2 t. ground ginger and 1/8 t. cayenne pepper. This was a very thick soup, almost like a stew. It was easy to make, healthy, & tastes wonderful.