Rustic Root Vegetable Stew with Coffee and Brown Lentils

Inspiration for this recipe came from a book called New Vegetarian Kitchen, written by Nicola Graimes. I changed quite a lot of things, though, mostly out of pure laziness, or because some ingredients were not easily available. “Oh, this tastes so rustic!”, was the first comment of my one-man test group. And yes, that would be the best word to describe the taste. You don’t notice the coffee at all, but it gives depth to the taste, so even if you don’t like coffee, I’d suggest you give it a try.

For four portions you need:

• 800g root vegetables (I used carrots, swedes, celeriac, and root parsley - and found that a perfect combination)


• 100g shiitake mushrooms


• 1 medium-sized onion


• 1-2 garlic cloves


• 3 Tbsp olive oil


• 1-2 bay leaves


• a twig of rosemary


• 1 espresso


• 400ml vegetable broth


• 100g cooked brown lentils (or beans)


• salt and pepper to taste

Chop the onion and garlic clove(s). Cut celeriac into thin sticks, the rest of the veggies in equal-sized cubes. If the mushrooms are small, you don’t need to cut them - if they’re bigger, halve or quarter them. Heat the olive oil in a pan (one with a lid, preferably), and sauté the onions for a few minutes. Then add garlic, stir, and add the rest of the veggies and mushrooms. Sauté for a couple of minutes, then add broth, coffee, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and rosemary.

Let cook, covered, over a low heat until all vegetables are tender, or 30-40 minutes. Once in a while, check that there’s enough water - add if needed! In the end, remove bay leaves and rosemary and add the cooked lentils (or beans).

Serve with cooked or mashed potatoes.