Guiso de Lentejas – Lentil Stew from Uruguay

Guiso de lentejas can be translated as lentil stew and is thoroughly enjoyed in Uruguay. Unfortunately, I never had the priviledge of eating this dish in Uruguay, somehow my family was not that much into legumes. Legumes are probably enjoyed all around the world, Uruguay is no exception. Typically this stew is seasoned with different meat (here also bacon) and gets its characteristic flavor from the tomatoes instead of the broth. Plus point, it comes together in about half an hour and is definitely a hearty dish for the whole family.

I am diverting from the original recipe in the sense that I use red lentils here. This has to do with the fact that these lentils pictured here do not need to be soaked overnight and only need about 10-15 minutes to be soft and ready to serve. Obviously you are free to use regular lentils, but then you have to calculate a little bit more time. Since it is only the two of us, we froze the leftovers and enjoyed them on another day. I added just a bit of water and heated it on the stovetop, it was so delicious the second time as well.

Credit: Nuestras recetas de siempre, page 128 (in Spanisch)

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Guiso de Lentejas from Uruguay

Serves: For about 4 people

Prep Time: 15min – Cooking Time: 15min – Total Time: 30min

Guiso de lentejas is a lentil stew from Uruguay made with some meat and held together by tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 500 grams of red lentils (no soaking required, soft in about 10-15min)
• 1 big onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 100 grams of cubed bacon
• 2 chorizo sausages (or Italian salsiccia or German Bratwurst)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 can (400 grams) of crushed tomatoes
• 3 bay leaves
• Salt, pepper, and fresh parsley

Instructions

1

Wash and soak the lentils for about 10min.

2

Meanwhile peel and cut the onion and garlic cloves, if needed, also cube the bacon. Fry all three ingredients in a large frying pan for a few minutes. Cut the sausages in slices, add and fry another few minutes. Cube the bell pepper and tomatoes and simmer gently for another few minutes. Lastly add the canned tomatoes, bay leaves and the lentils. Be sure to simmer everything combined for about 15 minutes, stir occasionally until the lentils are soft. If the stew appears to be too thick, add a bit more water. Season with salt and pepper to your liking and serve with some freshly cut parsley.

3

This stew freezes beautifully. When reheating, add a splash of water and make sure to season again, if needed.

P.S: If you are interested in a Colombian bean stew, check out that recipe as well: