Instant Pot Sausage Lentil Stew

  

I made this 11 December 2019 – my changes are in  [  ]

Prep Time 10 minutes    Cook Time 25 minutes   Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 8

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb Italian sausage  [I used a combination of sweet and hot; 6 links, which came to 1 lb 2.7 oz total]

1 large onion chopped [I had 3/4 of a large onion on hand]

2 stalks celery chopped [I used 3 stalks]

3-4 carrots peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt

29 oz canned diced tomatoes

5 cups chicken stock  [Only had 4 cups chicken stock, so I added 1/4 white wine and 3/4 cup beef broth]

1 1/2 cups dry lentils rinsed and picked over (preferably French Green Lentils)

1 cup finely chopped kale (optional)

Press the SAUTE button on the instant pot and let preheat for 1-2 minutes. Add the olive oil and Italian sausage. Cook, breaking into small pieces with a spoon, until no longer pink.

Add the onion, celery and carrot. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables start to soften. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and salt.

Add the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, and lentils. Stir to combine.

Close the instant pot [turn the dial to pressure cook] and press MANUAL and set timer for 10 minutes. When the time is up let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest of the steam.

Stir in the chopped kale. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!

Recipe from: https://meaningfuleats.com/instant-pot-sausage-lentil-stew/

Pork and Black Bean Stew

For a rotation group dinner last night (18 May 20130, I made a pork and black bean stew (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pork-and-black-bean-stew/) for our Brazil food theme:

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 large onion, chopped
1 (12 ounce) pork tenderloin, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 (19 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 chorizo sausages, cut into 1/2 inch thick pieces
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat, stir in garlic and onion, and cook a few minutes until the onion softens and turns translucent. Remove the onion, and place into a saucepan. Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil into the skillet, and place over medium-high heat. Add cubed pork, and cook until well browned.

Meanwhile, pour 3/4 of the black beans along with 1/4 cup water into the bowl of a blender, and pulse until finely chopped, but not quite smooth. Pour whole beans and bean puree into saucepan along with pork cubes, chicken stock, chorizo, and bay leaves.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

My adjustments:

I skipped the 1/4 cup of water and added a splash of white wine

I used one can of chicken stock.

After the pork was cooked (used about 20 oz), I removed it and browned the chorizo (5 links) for a few minutes.

After bringing all ingredients to a high heat, I placed everything into a crockpot and cooked on high for 2 hours and then low for 2 hours.

My comments:

This came out well and everyone enjoyed it, but it’s definitely not a colorful dish. If I make this again, I'll add some red bell peppers to brighten it up. I was glad I added the white wine, as it made it more flavorful. 

~~~~~~

Brazilian black beans with pork

My friend Debbi, who hosted this dinner, also made this traditional Brazillian dish.

(Ingredients and directions provided; for full information see: http://www.cookbrasil.com/feijoada.htm)

Ingredients

1 lb of varied pork sausages (prefer smoked sausages)

1 lb of pork tenderloin

some slices of bacon

1 can of black beans (15.5Oz)

2 tbs vegetable oil

salt, garlic, chopped onions and bay leaves (bay leaves give a special taste to feijoada)

Directions

Add black beans to a medium-sized pot with 2 tbs oil, salt, garlic, chopped onions and about 6 bay leaves.

Cook for about 15 minutes in med heat and set aside.

In a separated panfry, cook cubes of pork tenderloin and slices of bacon with salt, garlic.

Add all the sausages sliced and stir medium-heat until dry all the water.

Add the cooked meat to the pan with the black beans and your feijoada is ready!

Cook your feijoada more 10 minutes to meat soak in the black beans. You can add some pepper sauce to your feijoada at this point.

Hint: to make the feijoada creamy, liquefy 1/2 cup of black beans in the blender and add to the feijoada

Serves 6

Debbi’s notes: I started by cooking the onions and garlic in the oil and once they were soft, added the beans. The meat portion I used about 4-5 slices of bacon and 1 lb. of Hillshire Smoked sausage and then the pork tenderloin. Some of the ingredients don't have a quantity, I just used my judgement on the amount.  I didn't add any hot sauce to this recipe.

 

Beef Tagine with Green Olives

My friend Elena made this for a travel group luncheon quite a few years ago. It's time I added it to my blog.

1-1/2 lbs stew beef, cut into 1" cubes
1 t. paprika
1 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 T. olive oil
2 T. tomato puree
4 shallots, quartered
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 large carrots, cut into 1/2" pieces
8 oz. canned chopped tomatoes
2 T. chopped parsley
Dash salt
1/2 c. pitted green olives

Put the 5 spices, garlic, 2 T. olive oil and tomato puree in a large zip lock bag. Knead to mix together. Add teh beef, close, and knead to cover the meat with the spices. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat the remaining oil and saute the shallots, potatoes, and carrots until they begin to change color. Remove from the pan.

In the same pan, fry the marinated meat until sealed on all sides. You may have to do this in batches.

Return the vegetables to the pan; add the canned tomatoes, any remaining marinade, parsley, and salt. Cover and cook over low heat for about 3 hours, or until the beef is tender.

Stir in the olives and allow to just heat through.

Notes:
This works well in a crockpot.
I doubled the recipe for a large dinner party for 15 people.

Moroccan Meatball Stew

I made this last week for a rotation group dinner. Food theme was "Foods from Mediterranean Ports." I selected Morocco. I found a few recipes but ended up using/adapting this one: www.food.com/recipe.moroccan-meatball-stew-404832.



Ingredients for the meatballs:

1.5 lbs ground beef (I wanted ground lamb but couldn't find any)
1 onion, chopped (minced)
1/3 cup panko
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 egg, beaten
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. tumeric (will skip next time, as it stains counter tops and hands)
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. ground ginger

Ingredients for the stew:

1 T. olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cinnamon sticks
1 t. tumeric
1/8 t. saffron thread, crumbled
1 14.5 ounce can beef broth
1 14.5 ounce can tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 cups carrots, sliced into 1/2 inches pieces
1/4 cup cilantro, choppped
1 5-ounce package spinach leaves (I used baby spinach)

chop onions
chop garlic
Ingredients mixed in a large bowl
Spices added

To make the meatballs, mix the meatball ingredients in a large bowl.

Moisten hands and make 1.5 inch meatballs. Place on baking sheet.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the stew, add the olive oil and sautee the onions and cook on medium heat until transluscent.

Add the garlic, cinnamon sticks, turmeric and saffron and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.

Stir in the beef broth, tomatoes, and raisins. Bring the stew to a simmer and stir in the carrots and meatballs. Add the cilantro, stir to mix, and cover.

Cook on low for 45 minutes.

Add the baby spinach, stir, and turn off heat.

Serve in bowls.

Notes: I used 3.69 lbs of beef and doubled the remaining ingredients for our rotation dinner. Next time I will use lamb.