Lentejas, or Spanish Lentils

Ok, so as you can probably guess from the announcement at the side of the blog, this post is being brought to you today by the husband of Thyme. I shall call myself Mint. I thought of taking Ginger, but figured I'd leave that one to Rosemary's husband if he ever wanted it.

Before beginning the recipe, one little caveat: I don't know any of the proportions for this dish. I learned it in Spain from a little old lady who basically only gave ingredients and told me to experiment until it tasted right. So I will do mostly the same, but give you about what I think is right. It really can't be messed up too bad, as a 20 year old single guy like me, at the time, couldn't screw it up.

Lentejas

1 lb lentils, cleaned
2 large russet potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, chopped
1 green chile (or 1 can green chilies, mild)
2-3 medium tomatoes, whole but with the stems cut out (or one large can diced)
8 oz Spanish chorizo*, chopped
3 cloves garlic, whole (more if you want)
2-3 bay leaves
salt to taste

This is a true one pot meal. Start off with the lentils in a large pot, putting enough water to cover them by about an inch to an 1 1/2 inches. Basically, the more liquid you put in the soupier they will be. Add the potatoes, carrots, green chilies, tomatoes, chorizo, and garlic to the pot and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for a while, until the tomatoes and the chili are soft enough that you can basically pull of the skin and let the insides fall apart. It's best to kind of pulp the tomatoes and chili using either a grater or a press of some kind. You mostly want them to be juice, not substance. After the tomatoes and chili are pulped, fish through the pot and find all of the cloves of garlic. They should be soft enough to just smash and mix back into the stew. Be sure to find all of them, as you can bet that no one wants a mouthful of garlic like that. Next, salt the lentejas to your liking. Remember, you might need more salt than you think, since lentils and the rest of the ingredients need quite a bit.

The recipe can be modified however you want, adding any vegetables that you feel work well for you. It is basically a pauper's dish, so whatever you have works.

* A note on Spanish chorizo: It is not the same stuff that you find in Mexico or many South American countries. It is a hard sausage similar to pepperoni, but not as spicy. There are many varieties that you can find, but if you can find Basque style it should be good enough. Obviously to make it authentic you would have to find actual spanish style, but it is often fairly expensive here in the states and so a substitute should probably be found. Talk to your local grocer to see what they have.

Mint

PS-Rosemary, don't ever feel it's inappropriate to ask me to post. I really don't mind, so if there is anything you wanted me to put up here, let me know.