Red & White Stew

New Year... and a Resolution to blog more often... which means I'll cook more too (I think it's a win-win situation all around).

I needed something quick and easy for my lunchtime meals and thought... bring out the crockpot! By going through my pantry, I was able to find some staples, throw them and some spices together and voilà... lunch is served.

you'll need:
a tin of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
a large tin of plum tomatoes, with juice
1 large white onion, sliced and diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
a knob of fresh ginger, minced (about 1 heaping tbsp. of fresh ginger)
3/4 c. dry red lentils
2 c. chicken stock (I used tinned)
4 tsp tomato paste (divided)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp corriander seeds
1 tsp black and white mustard seeds
pinch of sea salt

Toss your chickpeas, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, red lentils, stock, onion and 3 tsp of tomato paste into your crockpot. Add the cumin and cayenne pepper.

In a pestle and mortar blend your fennel, corriander and mustard seeds together w/ 1 tsp of tomato paste. the paste will allow you to really grind the seeds and make them much finer. Once you get the paste well blended, add it to the pot, throw in your salt and cover it with the lid.

Turn it on "automatic heat" and allow to cook for 6 hours. Enjoy!