Green Lentil Stew with Unexpected Flavors- From Miss Betsy's Experimental Kitchen

The inspiration for this recipe came from "The Sultan"s Kitchen", a cookbook by Ozcan Ozan. The kitchen is not the palace kitchen of a Turkish Sultan. It is a Boston restaurant. I saw the recipe for Green Lentil Salad-"Mercimek Piyazi"-,, and though I lacked several ingredients of this recipe, I added some of my own. I cooked the lentils in water flavored with chicken bouillon.. When they were al dente I added fire roasted diced tomatoes, garlic, red onion and shallots, olive oil, cider vinegar, pomegranate molasses, and orange juice. And lots of cumin. I stirred and the warm lentils mixed with the cold tomatoes and the raw onions. This is great cold or warm. It is sweet, sour, salty, and crunchy.I think bread would enjoy being dipped in it.


1 1/2 cup dried green lentils.

2 1/2 cups of water flavored with 2 chicken bouillon cubes.

Bring the lentils and the broth to a boil, then cover , and simmer for 25 minutes.

When the lentils are done they will have absorbed most of the broth.


Then add:

1 1/2 cup of fire roasted diced tomatoes

4 garlic cloves sent through a press or finely diced.

1/4 of a red onion- chopped.

2 shallots, chopped.

1/2 teaspoon of ground red pepper.

1/4 cup of olive oil.

2 teaspoons (at least!) of cumin

2 teaspoons of cider vinegar.

2 teaspoons of pomegranate molasses.

The juice from half an orange.

Sea salt to taste.


Let the stew cool and treat this like gazpacho, or eat it warm.