I made this hearty protein packed bean and lentil stew a few weeks ago while I was doing a batch cooking weekend and thought I would share it with you. I have made it both in a slow cooker and in a pan, it tastes the pretty much the same cooked both ways, but I prefer the thicker texture in the slow cooker. The lentils remain whole and visible in the slow cooker whereas in the pan they can turn mushy if overcooked. This stew is hearty and substantial enough to eat on its own as a main meal.

Ingredients – Serves 6

Time approx 6hr Slow Cooker or 1hr 15 in a pan

• 1 tbl rapeseed oil
• 1 red onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tin of berlotti beans
• 1 tin of haricot beans
• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
• 2 sticks celery
• 3 carrots (medium)
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 cup of red lentils
• 2 cups hot water
• 2 tbl paprika
• 2 tbl Harissa
• 1 tsp chilli (optional)
• Pinch salt and pepper
• 1/2 bag (100g) of chopped curly kale

Slow cooker method:

1. Turn slow cooker on to high (if using) and allow to heat up
2. Chop celery, carrots and sweet potato (skins on) into small pieces-approx. bean size
3. Rinse the lentils thoroughly
4. Add beans, tomatoes, celery, carrots, lentils and hot water to the slow cooker
5. Chop the onion and garlic and gently fry in heated rapeseed oil for approx. 5 min, add the dry spices and stir in for approx. 1 minute, until you can smell the spices
6. Cook on high for 1 hour then a further 5.5hrs on low. Keep an eye out for it drying out and add a little more water if necessary
7.  Add the kale and cook for a further 30 min until the lentils are soft enough to chew easily

Pan method:

1. Prepare all the vegetables and ingredients as for slow cooker method
2. Gently fry the onion, garlic then spices, add to a large pan
3. Add hot water and the rest of the ingredients, bring to a simmer and stir occasionally for approx. 40 minutes until the lentils have cooked