Prepare the onion, garlic, ginger and sweet potato. Give the red lentils a quick rinse under running water.
Gently heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan. Soften the onion, garlic and ginger until translucent.
Stir in the curry powder and toast briefly until fragrant. Add the sweet potato and red lentils and mix well.
Pour in the vegetable stock and coconut milk and simmer the stew gently, stirring now and then, until the lentils are soft and the sweet potato is falling apart.
Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. If the stew is too thick for you, add a little water or stock.
Serve hot, finished with a little black pepper or a small drizzle of olive oil if you like.
Good to know
A stew like this often rescues the evening. Little effort, lots of warmth in the bowl. And the next day it usually tastes even more rounded.
Swaps
Red lentils → yellow lentils (similar amounts of plant protein and fibre). Sweet potato → Hokkaido squash (also provides fibre and carotenoids). Coconut milk → unsweetened cashew cream (usually a little more protein, often less saturated fat; contains tree nuts).
Allergens
The recipe is naturally gluten-free as long as the vegetable stock is gluten-free. Some people react to coconut; for children the mild spicing is easy to adjust, and in pregnancy these are everyday ingredients – just keep to good kitchen hygiene.
