Scrape out the soft eggplant flesh and place
in blender with 1 cup of the vegetable
stock, blend until smooth and stir into the cooking
pot with the
lentil puree.
3 tablespoons olive oil 2 large carrots, small dice 1 medium yellow onion, small dice 2 stalks celery, small dice 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons smoked paprika 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 1/4 cups red
lentils, rinsed 4 cups vegetable
stock sea salt & ground black pepper, to taste 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1/2 a large lemon) chopped fresh herbs for serving (see headnotes)
In a large
pot or deep braiser, heat the olive oil over medium heat.