Pressure-Cooker Lentil Stew

Two weeks to Thanksgiving. The classroom food drive is in full swing — Room 108 has brought in more than any other class in the school, which I attribute partly to the fact that I sent a clear note home explaining exactly what the drive was for and where the food went, with pictures, which is good communication practice and also because the families in this school know what it means to need a food drive. They give because they have been given to. I wrote about this on the blog. It got more shares than almost anything I have posted in months.

Ryan is planning what to bring to Thanksgiving. He has asked four times in the last two weeks. I said: bring wine, be yourself. He said "I want to bring food." I said okay, bring a dessert. He said "I can make a pie." I said what kind. He said "Apple. My grandmother's recipe." I said make the apple pie. He said "She crimps the edges with a fork." I said I will tell Babcia Rose you said that. He said "Will she approve?" I said: she approves of things that are made with care. He said "Then she'll approve." He is right.

Made a big pot of turkey and bean soup from a frozen turkey carcass I had in the freezer from last Thanksgiving — pulled it out this week because I wanted it and it was there. Four hours of stock, then pulled turkey, white beans, carrots, celery, thyme. Under two dollars for a pot I had been saving all year. There is something about cooking from something you saved — that frozen carcass, the waiting containers, the patience of the freezer. You make soup now from the bird you had a year ago. The year is a loop and you are feeding yourself through it, forward and backward simultaneously.

Thanksgiving is two weeks away. Ryan Kowalczyk is going to bring an apple pie with fork-crimped edges to my parents' house and meet my entire family and Babcia Rose is going to interrogate him about his family and his job and whether he eats enough. He eats enough. He is going to be fine. I am very sure about this. I am very sure about a lot of things right now.

The turkey and bean soup I made from that frozen carcass is the kind of cooking that reminded me why I save things — the patience of the freezer, the year folding back on itself, feeding yourself forward and backward at once. If you don’t have a carcass waiting in your own freezer (yet — save the one from next month), this Pressure-Cooker Lentil Stew gives you that same deep, settled feeling in a fraction of the time: earthy, thick, built from humble things, and exactly right for a November evening when you are very sure about a lot of things.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 1/2 cups green or brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
5 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups baby spinach or chopped kale (optional)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Fresh parsley, for serving

Instructions

Sauté the aromatics. Set your pressure cooker to the sauté function. Add olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more until fragrant.
Build the base. Add the carrots and celery and stir to combine. Add the lentils, diced tomatoes (with their liquid), broth, thyme, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
Pressure cook. Secure the lid and set the valve to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then carefully switch the valve to venting to release any remaining steam.
Finish the stew. Remove the lid. Stir in the spinach or kale if using, and let it wilt in the residual heat for 2 minutes. Stir in the red wine vinegar. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh parsley. Serve with crusty bread or alongside a simple green salad.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pressure-Cooker Lentil Stew — The Soup You Saved All Year