Tasty Tuesday: Spicy Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew

It's really important to Justin and me to raise our kids with an awareness of their beautiful cultural heritage.  Over the past few months I've slowly been collecting Ethiopian recipies with the hopes of starting a mini collection of dishes to make for our soon to be multi-ethnic family.  I've found several that have required goat or lamb meat... but thought I better stick to something simple at first before tackling more exotic game, and was thrilled to find a red lentil stew recipe. 

From my very limited knowledge of Ethiopian cuisine, berbere spice seems to be an essential ingredient in most dishes.  As I researched, it seemed pretty clear that if you didn't have berbere seasoning you might as well not even attempt cooking Ethiopian food.  I searched high and low to find this seasoning and had no luck in any grocery store.  Finally, I decided to look online for a spice recipe and to make my own.  Berbere is made up of all kinds of spices (see above!) and when mixed together make such a distinct taste.  I have never used that many spices in a single dish in all my life! If you're curious about making Ethiopian cuisine and can't find berbere locally, check out the recipe at this link: berbere spice recipe

As with so many of my favorite recipes, the below comes from Cooking Light Magazine.

Spicy Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew:
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 cups chopped red onion
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons Berbere spice
3 cups organic vegetable broth
1 cup dried small red lentils
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
4 cups hot cooked basmati rice

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add ginger and garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in tomato paste and Berbere spice; cook 1 minute, stirring to combine. Gradually add broth, stirring with a whisk until blended. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to a simmer.

2. Rinse lentils until cold water; drain. Add lentils to broth mixture; simmer, partially covered, 35 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt. Sprinkle with cilantro; serve over rice.

Nutritional Information
Calories:454 Fat:3.9g (sat 0.3g,mono 1g,poly 1g) Protein:19g Carbohydrate:85.5g Fiber:9.5g Cholesterol:0.0mg Iron:5.1mg Sodium:867mg Calcium:43mg