Lentils, potatoes and peppers stew with or without meat

A very filling, nutritious and tasty recipe for the whole family! Very versatile too since instead of potatoes you can use rice or adding 1 cup of pumpkin cubes when in season, giving extra flavour to the dish. Beside the meat version it can be cooked without any sausage in and then you have a great vegetarian recipe. In this way it is also ideal for those who fast this time of the year

Recipe of Nana Dareioti,

from "BHMAgourmet" magazine of "TO BHMA" newspaper (2010)

Ingredients (for 4-6 people):
500 gr. of medium lentils
1 large ripe tomato, whole (or 2 whole tomatoes from a tin)
1 medium yellow onion, cut in quarters
2-3 whole cloves
1 large green bell pepper, cut in large pieces
1 bay leaf
2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
½ tea-cup of olive oil
salt
pepper
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes of 1,5-2 cm
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of sweet paprika
200 gr. of pork country-style sausage, cut in slices (omit for vegetarian version)

Method:
The night before soak the lentils in a large bowl filled with water. Next day drain in a colander and transfer into a pot. Fill with water half way up.

Press the cloves on the onion wedges and add to the pot. Then add the whole tomato (or the tin tomatoes), the pepper, the bay leaf, the garlic, the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Put on medium heat and when the food starts boiling turn the heat down to medium-low, semi-cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour.

Add the potatoes, the cumin, the paprika and the sausage (if used) and continue cooking for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes and the lentils are cooked through and the food is left only with its light tomato sauce. *** This stew should not be as runny as others (or like a soup) so most of the liquids have to be evaporated.

Notes:
1) If you use rice instead of the potatoes it should go in the pot 20 minutes before the end of cooking
2) Spanish chorizo or Italian salami can also be used in the recipe