Lentils can be a love or hate type of situation… thankfully my husband and I are in the love love love. Especially Lentejas Colombianas (Colombian Lentils). These are special because you make a charred veggie salsa of sorts and serves as the flavor backbone for it. This is not something my Colombian mother would do, but a Colombian neighbor during my foster care years taught me.

Incredibly easy, can be enjoyed with rice with plantains (my favorite way), thinned with more broth to make a soup, or blended for a creamy experience with a chunk of crusty bread is perfection!

For 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried green lentils

• 3 ripe plum tomatoes

• 1 yellow onion

• 4 garlic cloves

• 1 jalapeño (taste for heat and use as much of chile as you’d like)

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 medium carrots, diced ¼ inch

• 5 scallions, chopped. Or a small onion

• ½ tablespoon smoked paprika

• 1 tablespoon regular sweet paprika

• 2 bay leaves

• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

• 8 cups of broth

• Optional but very delicious: ¼ cup red wine

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions:

Rinse the lentils and cover with cold water in a medium bowl. Soak for 1 hour

Heat a medium-sized pan over high heat until hot. Place the tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeno onto the pan and char, training occasionally with kitchen tongs so that all sides get nice and charred, about 7 to 12 minutes. This is what gives such a delicious flavor to the lentils. Don’t be scared of getting really charred. It’s flavor!

Turn off the heat under the pan and allow the vegetables to sit for 10 minutes. Peel off the skins of the tomato, discard the skins.

In a blender add the charred vegetables with one teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of black pepper. Set aside. You can even make this mixture 4 days ahead (I do it the night before)

To cook lentils:

in a large Dutch oven or soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and add carrots, onion, green onions, paprika, bay leaf and oregano. Cook until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the drained lentils and wine (if using), stir. Allow the wine to bubble and evaporate for two minutes

pour your veggie puree and give it another stir. Cook for five minutes. Add your stock, season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to boil. Give the lentils a good stir then lower the heat to medium low. Cook for a 30 to 45 minutes. This depends on how long your lentils take to cook. Make sure to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot every 10 to 15 minutes, until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Add the vinegar, stir, adjust seasoning as you feel is necessary. Lentils require more seasoning than you think!

serve the lentils with white rice and sweet plantains (recipe to follow) we love it with a simple arugula salad or cilantro and avocado on top.