Slow Cooker Barley Lentil Stew

Had a busy weekend down at the allotment so decided to knock up a quick (in prep terms) dish in the SC for dinner after a hard days graft. This came out thicker than I expected so you could add up to another half pint of stock to loosen it a little. Could also be adapted to your preferred flavour / herb combo; just use the recipe as a blueprint and adapt away.

SC Barley & Lentil Stew

2 small onions

2 cloves garlic

1 tin tomatoes

1.5 - 2 pints stock - see note above

2 bay leaves

1tsp rosemary

1tsp parsley

1tsp oregano

2 sticks celery

1 large carrot / 2 smaller

0.5 cup pearl barley (approx 3oz/75g)

0.5 cup red lentils (approx 3.5oz/100g-ish)

S+P

Chop onions. Crush and finely chop garlic, add both to SC.

Drain tin tomatoes - if ready chopped add pieces to SC, if whole ones slice into about 6 pieces each and add to SC.

Chop celery and carrot into small dice and add to SC.

Add barley and lentils, herbs and stock and cook on High, at least 4 hours.

I cooked for 6 hours in the end which was a little too much - one edge was starting to stick. As mentioned this turned out pretty thick - adjust the amount of stock used to your preference.

All in all tasty, ideal for cold evenings, filling and very time frugal to make. You could add more veg as well - a good recipe to use up odds and ends in the cupboard and fridge.