Mushroom Lentil Stew

By the Gracious Vegan

This recipe started as an attempt to make a German-style lentil stew to go with my eggless Whole Wheat Spaetzle. But traditional German stews are dominated by meat, usually cured or smoked meat of some kind. So I went a different direction and leaned into mushrooms with notes of tomato and vinegar. The result is a protein-packed, deeply flavorful stew that tastes great on its own or with spaetzle, rice, or other grain.

Makes 8 cups (5-6 servings) 

Porcini prep.* Combine the following two ingredients in a bowl, cover the bowl, and let stand 20 minutes.

• 1.5 cup boiling water

• 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

Drain the mushrooms through a sieve over a bowl; reserve both the mushrooms and the soaking liquid. Once the mushrooms have cooled a bit, chop them.

The stew. In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, water-sauté the following ingredients until the onion is soft and transparent, 8-12 minutes. (Start with 1/4 cup water and add more if you need it.)

• 8 ounces sliced or chopped mushrooms (any kind or combination you prefer)

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 carrot, diced

Add the following ingredients and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the lentils are soft but not dissolved.

• 1.25 cups dried green lentils (brown are okay, but they turn mushier than green)

• The porcini mushrooms and their soaking liquid (or porcini powder and extra broth – see note)

• 3.5 cups vegetable broth

• 1 bay leaf

• 1.5 teaspoons dried thyme

Add the following ingredients and simmer for another 3-4 minutes. Adjust thickness (add water or cook a bit longer) and salt, pepper, vinegar levels. 

• 1 Tablespoon vinegar (sherry vinegar is very nice; white wine vinegar works too)

• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon tahini

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

Garnish with parsley when serving, or stir the parsley into the stew.

• 2-4 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Serving suggestions: serve with späztle, pasta, or cooked potatoes (any kind)

* If you have porcini mushroom powder), you can use 3 Tablespoons of it instead of dried mushrooms (and increase the vegetable broth to 4.5 cups

Timing: 60-75 minutes total

Gluten-free