This lentil stew is super healthy and very quick to make. You can make it in the time it takes your baguette to bake (because you’ll need a fresh baguette with which to eat this lovely stew!).

The stew is also delicious, but the key is to use fresh lemon and fresh herbs. It’s still good with bottled lemon juice and dried herbs, but it’s amazing with the fresh stuff! It’s based on my Lemony Lentil Soup, but includes celery, sweet potato and less liquid.

I also reduced the time in the Instant Pot to “0” so the carrots and sweet potato don’t become mush in the pressure cooker.

So here we go!

Instant Pot Lemony Lentil Stew

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
• a handful of fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 Tbsp dried oregano)
• a handful of fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1 Tbsp dried rosemary)
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced
• 6 cups boiling water
• 3 TBS Better Than Bouillon vegetable base (or vegan chick’n broth)
• 2 cups red lentils

• 2 lemons, juiced
• the zest of both lemons

Directions

1. Rinse the lentils and set aside to drain.
2. Start the Instant Pot on “Saute” and saute the onions in the olive oil until translucent.
3. Add garlic, salt, pepper, chili flakes, rosemary, oregano and bay leaves, and saute for one more minute.
4. Add the boiling water, BTB base, and the lentils, bring to a boil, add the chopped carrots, celery, and sweet potato, and then close the lid to the Instant Pot, hit “Manual” and set for 0 minutes.
5. The soup will take a few minutes to come to pressure.
6. Do a controlled quick release (this might take a few minutes).
7. Add the lemon juice, zest and adjust seasonings. The fresh lemon juice and lemon zest are what make the soup so special, so don’t skimp!!

And the song of the day is Aoife O’Donovan’s cover of Springsteen’s “Nebraska.” I’m not much of a Springsteen fan these days, but I was obsessed with his music in the 1980s and I’m still a bit obsessed with this particular album. Aoife’s cover is brilliant.