Do you have to soak lentils before cooking?

I recommend soaking them. This can be done while you're cooking the veggies. 20 minutes is all you need. It helps to soften them and reduce the cooking time.

What type of lentils is best for this Spanish lentejas recipe?

The traditional way to make this lentejas recipe is using brown lentils, however, you could also use green lentils or red lentils. Depending on the type of lentils that you use, the cooking time will increase (for green lentils) or decrease (for red lentils).

The Best Spanish Lentil Stew (Lentejas Recipe)

Name: The Best Spanish Lentil Stew (Lentejas Recipe)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 3 cups of leek sliced; 2 cups of carrot diced; 1 cup of red pepper diced; 1.5 cups of green pepper diced; 7 garlic cloves peeled; 2-3 large potatoes cut into big chunks; 2 1/3 cups of brown lentils; 300 grams of pork belly; 2 regular or spicy chorizos; 2 bay leaves; 1/2 tbsp of paprika; 1-2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp of ground pepper; Olive oil for cooking

Description

This traditional Spanish lentil stew recipe (Spanish lentejas) is the real deal! With chunks of chorizo and pork belly, it's incredibly flavourful and easy to make following some simple steps. Recipe from my mum, I promise this authentic Spanish recipe it's THE BEST!

Ingredients

Units Scale

3 cups of leek sliced

2 cups of carrot diced

1 cup of red pepper diced

1.5 cups of green pepper diced

7 garlic cloves peeled

2-3 large potatoes cut into big chunks

2 1/3 cups of brown lentils

300 grams of pork belly

2 regular or spicy chorizos

2 bay leaves

1/2 tbsp of paprika

1-2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp of ground pepper

Olive oil for cooking

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Instructions

Cook the veggies: Pour a generous amount of olive oil to a large pot on medium heat. You should cover the entire base with approx. 1/2 cm of oil. Add the leek, green & red capsicum, carrot, salt & pepper, and stir well to combine. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the veggies are soft. While the veggies are cooking, soak the lentils.
Add all the ingredients: Rinse the lentils. Add the lentils, garlic cloves, potatoes, chorizo, pork belly, bay leaves, paprika and salt to the pot. Fill up with cold water. The water should be around 2 fingers above all the ingredients. Stir well to combine, and cover with a lid. Cook on medium heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Check that the lentils are cooked, and if necessary cook for a bit longer.
Chop the meat: Take out of the pot the chorizo and pork belly. In a chopping board, cut the chorizo in bite-size chunks, and the pork belly in small pieces. I recommend discarding the fat of the pork belly.
Put all the meat back into the pot, combine, and enjoy!!

Notes

The cooking time of this recipe might depend on the type and quality of the lentils you use. After 45 minutes of cooking time, I recommend trying the lentils to see how cooked they are. Add more water if required.

Leftovers? Happy days! This is the kind of dish that gets better as it sits in the fridge. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

This dish is suitable for freezing without the potatoes (the texture of defrost cooked potatoes is horrible!). Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.