Lentils stewed with black pudding and spinach recipe

Total: 1 h Diners: 4

Stewed lentils, so popular in Spain but also curiously the end of the year meal in Italy, are a perfect choice for the colder months for all the vegetable proteins and minerals they provide, for being a very complete food, and for allowing us to make larger portions to then freeze and regenerate at any time. They are so easy that if we put everything in the pot and forget about it, they will be ready after we finish any other task. In addition, if we make more quantity than necessary the ideal is to reconvert it later in a cream just crushing the whole thing, leaving the black pudding apart as a topping on top.

Today’s recipe is as easy as cooking some lentils in the pot – express or normal – and then add at the last moment some fresh spinach and also some slices of fried Burgos blood sausage, the kind with rice that remains crispy on the outside. If we want it to have less fat we can also make it grilled or if we want to make them vegan we could opt for a version with pumpkin and eggplant, Ottolenghi style.

If you have Crock-pot or any slow cooker, lentils with chorizo and black pudding (Asturian style, not Burgos) are always a perfect recipe for this type of utensils that allows us to leave the meal ready without even having to look at it while if you want a more special option we could always make some lentils with mussels and turmeric, with that Asian touch of a spice that is a natural anti-inflammatory.

The options that lentils present us are endless, if you like them I would not miss the ones made in Fismuler that are almost dry with succulent pieces or those of Viridiana in which Abraham Garcia adds a tris of coconut milk and aromatic spices, they are wonderful. Making them at home is not so complicated, but achieving exceptional ones has its mystery. Of course, the first lies in using a quality legume, in this case the Pardina variety, which is smaller and darker than the Castilian.

How to make lentils with black pudding and spinach

Ingredients

. Brown lentils, 250 g Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons + 100 g for frying Burgos black pudding, 1 pc Onion, 1 u Garlic cloves, 4 u Sweet paprika, 1 teaspoon Salt, c/s Ground black pepper, c/s Bay leaf, 1 leaf Chicken stock, vegetable stock or water, 800 ml Soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Perrins sauce, 1 teaspoon Spinach, 300 g

Step 1

In a large pot place the lentils, broth or water, peeled and halved onion, peeled garlic cloves, oil, paprika, salt and bay leaf and bring to a boil over high heat. The broth has to cover at least 3-4 fingers above the lentils. If you make them in a normal pot, once it starts to boil you will have to lower the fire to leave it very soft and cook the lentils for 45-90 minutes approximately, controlling that if they run out of broth we will have to add more. At the beginning it is advisable to cover them to concentrate the steam inside the pot.

If we use, on the other hand, the express pot we will need less amount of broth. We will cover it from the beginning and once the valve goes up we will lower the fire to the minimum and we will let it cook for 30 minutes. After that time we will let the pot cool down little by little, until the valve goes down by itself. We will rectify of broth if we see that it has dried a lot.

Step 2

When the lentils are tender and the broth is cooked (we can always crush the garlic cloves and the onion on the other side and add the puree to the mixture) it will be time to add the sauces and also the spinach. Always over low heat, for 5 minutes.

Step 3

On the other hand, prepare a frying pan with a finger of olive oil and cut the black pudding into slices. When the oil is very hot fry the blood sausage on both sides, until it is very crispy on both sides. Remove the blood sausage and leave it on a paper towel so that it loses the excess oil.

Step 4

Serve the lentils, with the salt and pepper to taste, with the pieces of black pudding on top and, if desired, with some mint or mint leaves.

Other lentil recipes

Lentils with sausages, an easy recipe to get back to the routine Lentil salad, a healthy recipe in less than 5 minutes Lentils with chorizo and pig’s ear, a spoon recipe Lentils stewed with Vegetable Recipes and Moorish spices