Servings: 8 cups (6-8 servings) 1x
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced (1 ½ cups)
- 3 medium carrots, diced ¼ inch (heaping 1 cup)
- 3 stalks celery, diced (½ cup)
- 6 garlic cloves, minced (2 tablespoons)
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 3 cups (24 ounces) low-sodium beef broth*
- 1 cup dry red lentils (may sub green or brown lentils)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- ⅓ cup dried apricots, finely diced
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped; plus more for garnish
- Optional serving: Whole wheat pita bread or naan (cut into halves or quarters), and dollops of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and cook until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer the browned meat and pan juices to the slow cooker.
- To the slow cooker, add the diced onion, carrots, celery, garlic, diced tomatoes, broth, dry lentils, turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, garlic powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, allspice, and black pepper. Stir to combine all of the ingredients.
- Add bay leaves and gently stir again.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on the low setting for 7-9 hours** or until the lentils are tender.
- Stir in the dried apricots, lemon juice, and parsley.
- Ladle the stew into bowls. If desired, top servings with yogurt or sour cream, sprinkle with fresh parsley and cracked black pepper, and serve with pita bread or naan.
Notes
*The stew does thicken when chilled. If you desire it to be thinned, add additional broth when reheating to achieve desired consistency.
**Lentils may take longer to soften when cooking at altitudes over 3,000 feet.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1 cup (1/8 of recipe)
- Calories: 318
- Fat: 12 g
- (Sat Fat: 4 g)
- Sodium: 728 mg
- Carbohydrate: 22 g
- (Fiber: 7 g
- Sugar: 3 g)
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 77 mg