Curried Lentils with Sweet Potato

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potato (slightly adapted from Good Housekeeping, Serves: 6, Total Time: 6 hours, 20 minutes)

Ingredients

·         2 tsp. olive or canola oil

·         1 medium shallot, sliced

·         2 clove(s) garlic, diced

·         1 tsp. ground ginger

·         2 tsp. curry powder

·         1 tsp. ground cumin

·         ¼ tsp. salt

·         1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

·         2 cups dried lentils, rinsed

·         4 cups vegetable broth

·         2 Tbsp. tomato paste

·         5 oz. fresh baby spinach

Directions

1.       In 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium. Add shallots, garlic, ginger, curry powder, cumin, and salt. Cook 1 to 3 minutes or until slightly softened, stirring frequently. Transfer to 6- to 7-quart slow cooker bowl.

2.       To slow cooker bowl, add sweet potatoes, then lentils, vegetable broth, and tomato paste.

3.       Cover and cook 6 hours on high or 9 to 10 hours on low, or until lentils are tender. Stir intermittently.

4.       Into slow cooker bowl, stir in baby spinach until spinach is wilted.

My dish definitely did not look like the picture on Good Housekeeping’s website.  My dish was very mushy, and was completely brown with just a bit of green from the spinach – no orange sweet potatoes because they cooked down and mashed in with the lentils.  That’s okay, though, because it was good in the flavor department (just not the presentation one!).  I liked the slight hint of sweetness from the potatoes and ginger.  I had mine with rice the first night, but found it much more convenient to use as a spread on pita bread (or in a tortilla).  It was very creamy in texture and I could taste the curry more than any other seasoning, but that’s OK – I like curry!  I also found that mine only needed maybe 4 hours on high to cook through – I put it down to low and then warm as it continued to cook.  The only change I would make is adding in more vegetable broth.