Before I learned about cooking, statements like “Food connects us” sounded pretty cheesy. After all, I could easily buy a frozen pasty pocket at the grocery for dinner with no need to rely on anyone to get it and certainly no need to eat it with anyone. Throw in a self-checkout and my meal might have absolutely no human connection. Gradually, Alex and I have come to know new way to eat that involves people at every turn: growing the food, teaching us how to prepare it, and eating it with us. Food has connected us to some of the most fascinating, generous, and inspiring people we’ve met. People like Anna Watson Carl of The Yellow Table blog and cookbook of the same name. Anna, in fact, is where this vegan stew comes from! Keep reading for more about Anna’s book, this vegan stew recipe…and what sprouted lentils are!
About the book
Anna is a home cook in NYC who radiates passion from her space on the internet. I was drawn to her zeal for entertaining and her authentic writing a few years ago, like this post on Choosing Connection Not Perfection. We’ve been virtual friends since, and I hope at some point we’ll make it to “real life” status. Anna self-published a cookbook based on her blog called The Yellow Table, and it was so popular it’s now been picked up by a publisher and is now more widely available! It’s a fantastic book; a mix of classic yet approachable recipes that can be whipped up in about 30 minutes and appeal to a wide variety of palates and diets–we found plenty of veggie-centric options. A fun feature is affordable wine pairings listed with the main dishes, and some tips for throwing dinner parties (our fave). We picked this vegan stew with sprouted lentils to try for a dinner with friends and we were sold.
What are sprouted lentils?
Before we get to the vegan stew recipe though—what the heck are sprouted lentils? Sprouting lentils actually makes them easier to digest; the nutrients are easier for the body to absorb after sprouting. Sprouting lentils also helps to reduce intestinal gas! Alex and I don’t sprout all our grains, but we’ve tried it before. (We’ve also grown our own bean sprouts, which is related but totally different!) When Alex and I went to make this vegan stew recipe, we actually found sprouted lentils sold dried at Whole Foods! This was a pleasant surprise since we didn’t realize sprouted lentils were widely available already dried and ready to go. If you’re interested in sprouting your own lentils, you can follow this method for how to sprout lentils: the lentils take about 2 days to sprout.
How to make this vegan stew recipe
This vegan stew recipe is relatively quick and easy to put together, and full of flavor. A highlight for me was the sprouted lentils; I hadn’t cooked sprouted lentils before, but we loved the gentle texture that they added to the stew. This lentil stew recipe also features Lacinato kale, also called Tuscan kale or Dinosaur kale. It’s our favorite kale to use in soups, since it wilts down nicely and has a lovely flavor. We served our lentil stew with crusty bread and salad, and it was an easy casual Sunday night supper with friends. Congratulations to Anna for your work on this book; it’s a gem!
Get the Book
The Yellow Table cookbook is available here.
Looking for plant based dinner recipes?
Aside from this vegan stew with sprouted lentils, here are some of our favorite vegan / plant based dinner recipes on A Couple Cooks:
15-Minute Gnocchi with Romesco SauceMasoor Dal (Indian Red Lentils) Tomato Basil Gnocchi SoupMango Black Bean ChiliChickpea Couscous Bowls with Tahini SauceBBQ Bean Tacos with Pineapple Salsa Quick Coconut Lentil Curry Best Stir Fry Vegetables with Teriyaki Loaded Quinoa Tacos Easy Chickpea Salad Sandwich Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup Recipe Crispy Cauliflower Tacos with Yum Yum Sauce
This recipe is…
This vegan stew recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant based, and refined sugar free. No reviews *You can find sprouted lentils at Whole Foods beside the regular lentils, or sprout your own.
