Spicy Spinach and Lentil Stew with Roasted Broccoli (vegan)
Load up on leafy greens with this spicy spinach and lentil stew with roasted broccoli. Serve with minty coconut yogurt and bread.
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Eat your greens
It’s a message we’ve all heard before – eat your greens! But why are green vegetables so good for us? The same pigment (chlorophyll) that makes them green is a powerful antioxidant that helps to prevent the damage caused by free radicals to your body’s cells. Green vegetables are also packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre but low in calories meaning they are a great way to add volume to your meals helping you stay full!
I’ve always been a big fan of green veggies and this is a homage to two of my favourites; spinach and broccoli. You can swap out the spinach for kale or any other leafy green vegetable. Cauliflower would also work in pace of the broccoli but I prefer to stick to the green stuff!
Roasting broccoli is so much better than steamed. It is sweeter thanks to the natural sugars caramelising, creating crisp edges. But, at the same time the earthy flavour becomes even more rich and the broccoli becomes soft and creamy inside.
Roasted broccoli even tastes great cold in salads. If you have a particularly large head of broccoli you can roast the whole thing and keep some in the fridge for later.
Add some spice
This dish is packed full of flavour with onion, garlic and ginger forming the base of the broth. I also like to add a little red chilli to really heat things up during the coldest days of winter.
Za’atar is sprinkled over the top of the finished dish to add another layer of flavour. Most za’atar blends will be made from oregano, thyme and toasted sesame seeds with sumac and/or marjoram. It’s the perfect way to add a more fragrant blend of herbs and spices to the dish.
To help add balance to this spicy stew, I like to serve a big dollop of minty yogurt on the side and a wedge of lemon for some extra zest!
Scoop it up
Although the lentils help to bulk out this dish I still like to serve mine with either a flatbread or chunk of sourdough. Both are a fantastic vehicle for scooping up this spicy spinach and lentil stew.
(Though spoons and forks work just as well…)
The recipe
Spicy Spinach and Lentil Stew with Roasted Broccoli
Ingredients
For the roasted broccoli
- 1 head broccoli cut into florets
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to season
For the spicy stew
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 inch root ginger grated
- 0.5 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 200 grams puy lentils pre-cooked
- 1 courgette diced
- 400 millilitres vegetable stock
- 150 grams spinach
- salt and pepper to season
For the minty yogurt
- 4 tbsp coconut yogurt
- 1 bunch fresh mint leaves only, shredded
To serve
- 2 lemon wedges
- 2 tbsp za'atar
- 2 slices sourdough or flatbread of your choice
Instructions
To roast the broccoli
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C / 356F / gas mark 4.
- Place the broccoli florets onto a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Toss them to ensure they are all covered.
- Roast the broccoli in the oven while you cook the stew, checking on them every 15 minutes to ensure they are browning evenly.
For the stew
- While the broccoli is roasting, heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat.
- Add the onion to the sauce pan with a pinch of salt and fry them for 10 minutes or until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic, ginger and chilli flakes to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Mix the cornflour with a splash of water to form a paste.Add this to the sauce pan along with the lentils, courgette and the vegetable stock. Stir this well to ensure there are no lumps of cornflour.
- Place a lid on the stew and let simmer for 20 minutes or until the courgette is cooked through.
- Add the spinach to the pan and stir until wilted. Season to taste.
To serve
- Spoon the stew into deep bowls and top with the roasted broccoli.
- Squeeze the lemon over the broccoli and add to the edge of the bowl.
- Sprinkle over the za'atar and then serve the dish with a big slice of bread (or a flatbread of your choosing).
If you like this you’ll love…
You can find more hearty vegan dinners here.