Looking through the freezer I found some kielbasa sausage that didn’t end up on my grill this summer. In trying to figure out what to make with it, I looked through the pantry and found some lentils and quinoa and decided to make a hearty stew to stand up to the wonderful flavors of the kielbasa sausage.
This is a fairly simple stew to make and you can accomplish prepping the vegetables and kielbasa while the lentils and quinoa are cooking.
First you want to rinse the quinoa. For some people quinoa can taste a bit soapy when it is cooked, so rinsing it is an important step prior to cooking.
Also, sort through the lentils to ensure there are no any rocks.
You can put both in one pan to cook since they take about the same amount of time. I happened to have a quinoa and grain mix in my pantry so I used that.
Put this on the stove and simmer with a lid on the pan for about 20 minutes.
While the lentils and quinoa are cooking, you can gather and prep the rest of the ingredients. I found some bell peppers in my freezer from my garden this summer that had been roasted, so I used them instead of a fresh bell pepper.
I also kept the frozen broccoli on top of the peas and corn because when it thaws a bit, I chopped it down into bite size pieces.
The chipotle pepper was also in my freezer. When I open a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, I usually only use 1 or 2 at a time, so the rest I freeze individually in snack size bags for future use. That way I don’t waste most of a can of chipotle peppers.
At this point your lentils and quinoa are probably cooked. If there is a lot of liquid left, you can strain it, or just turn up the heat and boil it out. Just be careful not to burn the lentils and quinoa. If there is a little liquid left, its not a big deal to add it to the stew.
In a larger stock pot, saute the kielbasa, carrots, onions, celery, and bell peppers. Be careful not to add too much oil, the kielbasa has some fat, and you don’t want a greasy stew in the end. About 1 tablespoon or a little less oil is plenty.
Now add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock, chipotle pepper if you are using one, lentils, and quinoa. You only need to simmer this for about 10 minutes. Everything is cooked, you’re just combining the flavors.
This is when I rough chop the frozen broccoli.
Stir in the frozen veggies, parsley, and fresh spinach. I happened to have a baby spinach, kale, and chard mix that I used.
Simmer for about 5 minutes to heat everything up and wilt the greens, and it’s ready to eat.
Try this soup with some homemade Cornbread for that finishing touch.
Enjoy!
Kielbasa Stew
Equipment
- Cutting board and knife
- 4 quart sauce pan
- Fine mesh sieve
- 6 quart sauce pan
Ingredients
Lentils and Quinoa
- ½ cup lentils
- ½ cup quinoa
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock
Kielbasa and Vegetables
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ pound kielbasa chopped
- 1 cup carrots diced
- ¼ cup yellow onions diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 each bell pepper diced
- 1 each chipotle pepper or jalapeno pepper, diced, optional
- 1 cup corn frozen
- 1 cup peas frozen
- 2 cups broccoli frozen, chopped
- 4 handfuls spinach
- ¼ cup parsley fresh, chopped
Sauce:
- 1 can diced tomatoes in sauce 15 ounce can
- 2 cups chicken stock
Instructions
- Put quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse well. Sort lentils to ensure there isn’t any rocks.
- Add rinsed quinoa, lentils and 2 ½ cups chicken stock or water in a 3 to 4 quart sauce pan on the stove over high heat, Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until done. Strain if there is excess liquid.
- Prepare kielbasa and vegetables. Open tomatoes and get chicken stock. Measure out frozen veggies and spinach.
- In a 6 quart or larger sauce pan, heat oil. Add kielbasa, onions, carrots, bell pepper, and celery. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions become translucent.
- Stir in chipotle or jalapeno pepper, tomatoes in sauce, chicken stock, lentils and quinoa. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Rough chop the frozen (thawing) broccoli to bite size pieces.
- Stir in corn, peas, broccoli, spinach, and parsley. Simmer for another 3 - 5 minutes to heat the frozen veggies and wilt the spinach.
- Enjoy!