Farm Fresh Vegetable Stew

Ingredients

• 0.1 cup olive oil extra virgin 
• 10 cloves garlic chopped
• 3  onion diced
• 3 cups pasilla peppers diced sweet green red italian assorted ( , and bell)
• 1.5 cups carrots diced
• 0.5 cup celery (4 stalks)
• 2 cups eggplant salted diced ()
• 0.5 cup green beans 
• 2  to 3 sized squashes diced yellow
• 1  zucchini diced
• 4  tomatoes diced
• 1 teaspoon thyme sprigs fresh
• 1 teaspoon cumin 
• 4 teaspoons kosher salt 
• 1 teaspoon oregano dried
• 2 cans kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 8 ounces lentils cooked for 8 minutes

Equipment

• paper towels
• pot
• peeler

Directions

1. Advanced Prep work
2. Cut an eggplant into rounds.
3. Lay the eggplant on a paper towel and sprinkle with kosher salt. After about 15 minutes, dice and add to the stew.
4. Remove the skins from the tomato. If you have a soft skin peeler, you can use it to remove the skins. Otherwise, you can blanch the tomatoes in boiling water, scoring the tops first, and then removing the skins.
5. Cook the lentils in boiling water for 8 minutes, drain and run under cool water.
6. Cooking Instructions
7. In a large stock pot, heat olive oil on a medium heat.
8. Saute the garlic for just a minute and add the onions. Season with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and cook for about 10 minutes. Begin adding the other vegetables gradually, starting with the peppers, carrots and squash. When all the vegetables are in the stew, add the thyme, cumin, salt and oregano.
9. Let the vegetables simmer until tender as a stock begins to form.
10. Mix in the lentils and kidney beans. Simmer for as long as you have, up to an hour and a half.