Lenticchie con Cavolo Nero (Braised Lentils and Kale)
Servings: 4 servings
Calories:
I wasn't particularly fond of lentils until recently. However, during a Nutritional Culinary Workshop with Dr. Colin Zhu, he prepared a dish featuring lentils. Despite my initial reluctance, I decided to give them a try purely out of politeness. To my surprise, I found myself enjoying them immensely. What caused this shift you might ask? Well, it turns out that I hadn't been preparing them properly, and my palate has evolved since fully committing to a Whole Food Plant-Based diet in 2019. It's worth noting that tastes can change over time. I encourage you to experiment with different foods and flavors. If something doesn't appeal to you now, don't write it off entirely. Revisit it in a year or two—you might be pleasantly surprised by your changed reaction.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- 8qt Dutch Oven
- Cutting board and chef knife
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup onion diced
- ⅓ cup celery diced
- ⅓ cup carrot diced
- 5 cups Tuscan kale lacinato chopped (8 oz.)
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 1 fresh sage leaf or ½ tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsps Braggs Amino Liquids
- 1¼ cups Beluga black lentils or Umbrian Castelluccio lentils, rinsed well
- 2½ cups water
- 1 15 oz. can roasted diced tomatoes with juices
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Strip the kale leaves from the stems, finely chop the stems, and cut the leaves into wide pieces. Set aside.
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or dutch oven, add the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery. Heat over medium until the garlic is aromatic, but not browned, 2 to 3 Minutes.
- Stir in salt, 8 or 10 grinds of pepper, sage, smoked paprika, and any other dried herbs of your choice (I like to add 1 tsp Trader Joe's Uniami seasoning mix). Cook until the vegetables soften, about 10 Minutes. Stir in the roasted diced tomatoes with juices
- Add lentils and kale leaves. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stir the pot every few minutes then reduce the heat to medium-low to simmer gently.
- Cook covered until the lentils are tender but retain their texture, adding more water as necessary, ¼ cup at a time (about 40 or 45 Minutes).
- Five minutes before serving, stir in balsamic vinegar.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed.
Notes
I like to add 1 tsp of Trader Joe's Uniami seasoning mix.
Add any other vegetables you like such as mushrooms, leeks, fresh tomatoes, eggplant, etc.. Eat the rainbow!
