This hearty but delicate stew, is packed with good-for-you ingredients, including ginger, garlic, and Andrea Gentl’s current obsession, turmeric. She developed the recipe while on a monthlong cleanse when she needed to cook food that her family would like, too. Food isn’t the only family affair for Andrea: she and her husband are two of the most in-demand lifestyle photographers around, shooting under the moniker Gentl & Hyers. Their extensive travels influence what she cooks at home. “I always look to foreign lands for inspiration and new tastes,” she says.
Directions
- Warm the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and sauté until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Don’t let them brown.
- Add the lentils, coconut oil, ginger, fennel seeds, and turmeric. Reduce the heat to low. Let the coconut oil melt into the spices and lentils for about 2 minutes to release the flavors and coat the lentils.
- Tuck the lemon quarters into the lentils to melt down during the cooking process, then add the red chile, Aleppo pepper, salt, and 5 cups water. Cover the pot and simmer over medium heat for 40 minutes, or until soft and soupy. Stir occasionally to break up the preserved lemon and add more water if the mixture seems too dry. Remove the red chile before serving and taste for seasoning. Add more salt if necessary. Ladle into bowls and serve with a sprinkling of cilantro and a dollop of yogurt.
Reprinted from Cherry Bombe: The Cookbook. Copyright © 2017 by Cherry Bombe, Inc. Photography by Alpha Smoot. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
