This recipe was delicious! I am vegetarian and always looking for yummy hearty main course recipes. This has a really nice flavor and is hearty. I had a hard time finding canned or jarred French Chestnuts after the holidays were over, but then found them at Treasure Island by Rolands in a glass 14 oz jar which was perfect. I think next time I would use a bit less water (maybe half a cup less)since it was a bit too watery. Also, I made basmati rice and served the stew on the rice which was perfect to soak up the juices/liquid of the stew. After dinner, I put the left over rice into the pot with the leftover stew and it heated up great over the next couple of days. I'll definitely make it again and serve it with rice again. Yummy!
Very good. I added cumin and curry for a little extra flavour. I also reduced the amount of liquid I used and think if you followed it exactly it would be quite watery.
Delicious and a nice variation on the winter stews I make. Like another reviewer said, it's wonderful to find hearty meatless meals that taste great! I added chopped potatoes and carrots to the mix. Also, added garlic, two bay leaves, marjoram and some thyme. Next time I will try adding rosemary as well.
I was not expecting this to be as good as it was! I do not usually like stews so much but I was going back for seconds like everybody else! I couldn't find canned brown lentils and used dried. Delicious!
I give my version 5 stars - I did a bit of tweaking - see below. This stew initially came out a bit watery and unappetising and reminded me of my attempts at cooking as a student in the 70s. So I cooked it in the oven at a low temp for another couple of hours ie total of 3 - 4 hours. Then I used a potato masher at the end to mash things up slightly and mingle flavours. I also added fresh herbs (thyme and sage because I had them in the garden) and a glass of red wine before putting it in the oven. Next time I'll probably leave out or reduce the water. So my tweaked version was more de luxe and took longer to cook. It was gorgeous.
Based on the recipe without modifications I gave four stars because it was a good and healthy dish. Everyone seemed to like it and ate it all up. However it wasn't outstanding. I felt it lacked a bit of interesting flavors. Could have perhaps benefited from some added spices or herbs. As other reviewers also said it came out a bit watery so we had it as a soup rather than a stew which was fine.
Very hearty and filling for a vegetarian dish. Will be making this again.
It's great as is. My only adjustments after multiple times making it are adding rosemary (dried works) pre-cooking lentils rather than using canned & adding either fresh spinach or kale. Love it!
This dish got rave reviews. I searched five stores looking for the French chestnuts. Was only able to get one jar. I was informed that is a holiday purchase. So I added mushrooms to the stew. We enjoyed it and will make it again. Your picture appears to have water chestnuts instead of French chestnuts. There is a big difference in texture flavor and price.
