I’ve been in a mood for a hearty bean stew for a while and decided to add in some lentils for a good dose of creaminess. This recipe yields a huge bulk, which is more than fine by me, because it means I have lunch sorted out for a while. While it does take some time for dried beans to cook, the actual work involved here is minimal, so it’s definitely worth to put in the extra effort to be more cost-effective.

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 8 servings / 0.66 EUR per serving / 5.30 EUR for all)

2 cups dried beans (2.00 EUR)

2 tbsp olive oil (0.09 EUR)

2 large onions (0.20 EUR)

4 garlic cloves (0.13 EUR)

2 chili peppers (0.40 EUR)

4 large carrots (0.40 EUR)

1 can peeled tomatoes (0.67 EUR)

1 cup red lentils (1.00 EUR)

1 bay leaf (0.01 EUR)

1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika (0.07 EUR)

1 tsp salt (0.01 EUR)

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper (0.02 EUR)

Pinch red pepper flakes (0.03 EUR)

6 cups water (–)

Bunch of fresh parsley (0.27 EUR)

METHOD:

Pick through, wash and soak the beans in cold water the night before. The following day drain the beans, cover with fresh water and simmer until the beans are cooked through. Rinse once more, drain and set aside.

Wash, peel and chop up all the veggies. Rinse and drain lentils and set aside. Saute onion on oil in a large pot for a few minutes, on high heat, until softened and slightly translucent. Add in minced garlic, finely chopped chili peppers and diced carrots and cook briefly to get the flavours going. Dump in canned tomatoes and crush them with your spatula. Now add in the cooked beans, lentils, bay leaf, paprika, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until thickened and the lentils are cooked through. Remove from heat, stir in chopped parsley and taste to adjust seasoning. This freezes and reheats great, so you have lunch situations sorted out for a while.

---

Već mi se neko vrijeme jede neko fino varivo od graha, a u ovo sam odlučila ubaciti i leću za ekstra kremastu teksturu. Ovaj recept daje ogromnu količinu, ali meni to sasvim odgovara jer onda imam riješen ručak za neko vrijeme. Usprkos tome što suhom grahu treba vremena da se skuha, stvaran posao je u tom dijelu minimalan. Tako da mislim da se definitivno isplati uložiti malo više truda i tako proći jeftinije.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 8 porcija / 4,96 kn po porciji / 39,64 kn za sve)

2 šalice suhog graha (15,00 kn)

2 žlice maslinovog ulja (0,66 kn)

2 velika luka (1,50 kn)

4 češnja češnjaka (1,00 kn)

2 čili papričice (3,00 kn)

4 velike mrkve (3,00 kn)

1 konzerva pelata (5,00 kn)

1 šalica crvene leće (7,50 kn)

1 lovorov list (0,10 kn)

1 žlica slatke crvene paprike (0,50 kn)

1 žličica soli (0,01 kn)

½ žličice svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,12 kn)

Prstohvat sušenog čilija u pahuljicama (0,25 kn)

6 šalica vode (–)

Pregršt svježeg peršina (2,00 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Većer prije proberite i operite grah, te ga ostavite namočenog u hladnoj vodi. Sljedećeg dana ocijedite grah, pokrijte svježom vodom i stavite kuhati. Skuhani grah isperite, ocijedite i stavite na stranu.

Operite, ogulite i nasjeckajte svo povrće. Isperite leću i sstavite na stranu. U velikom loncu na jakoj vatri prodinstajte luk na ulju par minuta, dok ne bude staklast i mekan. Ubacite sjeckani češnjak, čili i mrkve, pa kratko prokuhajte da se aktiviraju arome. Dodajte pelate pa ih izgnječite špatulom. Sada u lonac ubacite kuhani grah, leću, lovorov list, slatku papriku, sol, papar, čili pahuljice i zalijte sve vodom. Pustite neka zavrije, a onda smanjite vatru i krčkajte oko 30 minuta, dok se varivo ne zgusne, a leća se ne skuha. Maknite s vatre, umiješajte sjeckani peršin, te kušajte i prilagodite začine. Ovo se super smrzava i podgrijava, tako da imate osiguran ručak za još neko vrijeme.