Smoky Lentil and Roasted Pepper Stew with Olive Oil Potatoes

Serves - 4

You’ll need

For the olive oil potatoes

• 800g waxy potatoes, such as Charlotte or baby new potatoes, halved if large
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

For the stew

• 2 red peppers
• 1 yellow pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 2 celery sticks, finely sliced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 x 400g tins green or brown lentils, drained and rinsed
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp maple syrup or brown sugar
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Roast the peppers

Preheat the oven to 220°C fan.

Put the peppers on a baking tray and roast for 25–30 minutes, turning once or twice, until softened and properly blistered in places. Transfer to a bowl and cover with a plate or foil for 10 minutes so they steam a little.

Once cool enough to handle, peel away most of the blackened skin, remove the seeds, and slice into strips. Do not worry about getting every last bit of skin off — this is dinner, not surgery.

2. Cook the potatoes

While the peppers are roasting, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the potatoes for 15–20 minutes, or until tender. Drain well, then return them to the pan with the olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Toss gently so they glisten nicely and keep warm.

3. Start the stew

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or casserole over a medium heat. Add the red onion, celery, and carrots with a pinch of salt and cook for 8–10 minutes, until softened and starting to smell like things are going well.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

4. Build the flavour

Stir in the smoked paprika, cumin, and tomato purée. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring regularly, so the spices wake up and the tomato purée loses its raw edge.

Add the chopped tomatoes, lentils, vegetable stock, roasted peppers, red wine vinegar, and maple syrup or brown sugar. Stir well and bring to a gentle simmer.

5. Let it settle

Simmer uncovered for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the stew has thickened slightly and the flavours have come together properly. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and a touch more vinegar if you want a sharper finish.

Stir through most of the parsley just before serving.

6. Serve

Ladle the stew into bowls and spoon the olive oil potatoes alongside or on top, depending on how rustic you want things to look. Finish with the remaining parsley and, if you like, an extra little drizzle of olive oil.

A couple of helpful notes

- This is very good the next day, when the smoky depth settles in even more.
- If you want a little heat, a pinch of chilli flakes added with the spices would do very nicely.