Berbere Black Lentil Stew
A rich, spice-heavy black lentil stew that relies on the Ethiopian spice blender: berbere that is heavy on chili peppers.
Servings 2 servings
Calories 438kcal
Ingredients
Stew
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger minced
- 3 to 4 tablespoons Berbere Spice
- 1 cup uncooked black lentils
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 to 2 cups waters
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- Juice from 1/2 lemon plus extra for serving
- Salt to taste
Topping
- Yogurt for topping
- Cilantro for topping
Instructions
- Heat a pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil followed by the minced onion. Cook until the onion is translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add in the ginger and cook for a minute more.
- Measure in 3 tablespoons of the berbere spice and stir to coat the onions. Add in the black lentils followed by the vegetable broth and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 25 minutes. Check and stir occasionally, adding water as needed.
- Once lentils are mostly tender, stir in the tomato sauce and lemon. Continue to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until lentils are tender. Taste and add more berbere seasoning, lemon juice, or salt as needed.
Notes
Recipe Notes
Tips & Tricks: I highly recommend blending your own Berbere spice. Grinding your own peppers allows for a better flavor and better control of the heat. Two recipes for Berbere that I like can be found here and here.
If you're worried about the heat level, start with 1 tablespoon of the berbere spice and go from there. Some blends are extremely spicy!
Stock up: get the pantry ingredients you will need: black lentils, tomato sauce, vegetable broth
Nutrition: see the information.
Nutrition
Calories: 438kcal