Grain and Legume Fall Symphony Stew

Inspired by today’s 101 Cookbooks blog entry in which Heidi described a rice and lentil soup, I spontaneously decided to try my own fall soup, but it turned into more of a stew, with glorious browns, greens, reds and oranges!

 

1 large onion, chopped
head of shallot, finely chopped
olive oil
can of tomatoes (sliced in the can)
fresh tomatoes, chopped or whole (depending on size)
chicken-y herbs
chicken broth
yellow split peas
green lentils
short grain brown rice
winter squash, (acorn, butternut, delicata), peeled and cubed

 

I began, as she did, with slowly caramelizing some onions and shallots in olive oil in my 7-qt LeCreuset pot, with some herby spices, salt and pepper. Meanwhile I put on about 2-3 quarts of water with some Trader Joe concentrated chicken broth added for flavoring.

 

When onions were done, I added a large can of stewed whole tomatoes, breaking them up a little. I added the water, about a cup of yellow split peas, about 3/4 cup of French green lentils (washed and picked through), and half a cup of short grain brown rice. After about 15 minutes, I added some cubed peeled acorn squash and an unidentified winter squash from my garden.  I also added the last of my sungold tomatoes.

 

I let it all simmer till the legumes were soft and split open, and the rice was full and plump. As it sits and simmers, this is definitely turning into a stew! Add more broth for a soup!

 

It is a warming and nourishing low-fat dish, to which you can add the flavorings of crumbled feta, hard boiled eggs, sliced French nicoise olives.

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