If roasting your own peppers prepare them first by heating up a cast iron plate over medium high heat. Roast the bell peppers until charred all over and the skins turn black. Transfer to a bowl, cover and allow to cool off. Once cool enough to handle simple peel and discard the charred skins, sees and chore. Chop the peppers into 1/2 inch chunks and set aside until needed.
2 red bell peppers
Heat up a heavy bottom pot over medium low flame. Add a drizzle of olive oil (or a splash of water for WFPB Plantricious diets) together with the diced onion and a pinch of sea salt. Add the carrot and sautee together for about 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.
1 yellow onion, 1 pinch sea salt, 2 carrots
Add the bay leaf, thyme and garlic and give everything a good stir.
2 leaves bay, 8 sprigs thyme, 6 cloves garlic
Mix in the lentils, chopped roasted peppers, smoked paprika and canned tomatoes. Pour in the water.
1.5 cup red lentils, 14 oz canned fire roasted tomatoes, 2 red bell peppers, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 6 cups water ( or vegetable stock)
Bring the stew to a simmer and season to taste with sea salt.
1 pinch sea salt
Add the diced potatoes and cook everything together for about 15 minutes until both the potatoes and the lentils are cooked through.
2 cups golden potatoes
Discard the bay leaves and thyme stalks and add the spinach. Cover with the lid and allow it to wilt in the heat from the steam.
To make this recipe WFPBNO & Plantricious compliant make sure to sautee in veggie broth or water and omit any oil.
Video
Notes
The Lentils - Make sure to use red lentils in this recipe, not green, brown or black beluga. There's absolutely no need to soak the red variety and you can add them straight into the soup pot. They cook fast and break down beautifully naturally thickening the stew.