I Am Not a Vegetarian But...

I (heart) lentils! I suppose I thought the lentils were only for the people that had forever sworn off meat; I thought that only people with dreds and long skirts ate lentils. Truthfully, I don't remember ever seeing them in a grocery store.

Until...I moved to Peru. It is not that they eat an abundance of lentils here. Simply, someone served them to me and they didn't make me sick. They seemed bland, but there was a spark of hope in me that somehow, someway we could be friends. Now I have tried lentils in all kinds of dishes with all kinds of spices.

Peruvian Spiced Lentils

500 grams of thinly sliced malaya or flank steak
2 teaspoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of palillo or turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup of red wine
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cups of finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cup of grated carrot
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 cup of finely chopped deveined aji amarillo (can substitute a bell pepper or hot pepper)
2 cups of dried lentils, washed
5 cups of water
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
1 cups of beef broth
salt to taste

Place beef in a medium bowl and add chili powder, cumin powder, pallilo, salt, and pepper, stirring to coat. Add red wine, stir to combine. Set aside, stirring occasionally. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat and add onions, sauteing until softened. Lower heat and add garlic, carrot, aji amarillo and continue cooking until vegetables are softened. Add lentils and water; bring to a boil then lower heat. Cover & simmer about 40 minutes; stirring occasionally. Once lentils begin to soften, heat a skillet and coat with cooking spray. Add beef and saute until browned. Add tomatoes, stirring to combine; cook 3 minutes. Add beef mixture to lentils along with beef broth. Continue cooking for 15-20 minutes more partially covered, stirring frequently.
Serve with hot brown or white rice and salad. Serves 6.