A dear friend of mine, a great cook, recommended this recipe to me a couple of weeks ago. She made it, her daughter made it, and now I’ve made it. A triple play! It was not originally gluten free, but I made it gluten-free by substituting tamari and oat flour for the soy sauce and wheat flour in the prior version. Easy peasy. 

Try serving this with a plate of sliced oranges, maybe sprinkled with a few berries. Nothing specific, just use whatever you can find in the fridge. 

4 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium-large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 medium-large carrots (scrubbed and sliced thinly)
2 large stalks celery (sliced thinly)
1 lb. small-medium size white mushrooms, sliced in half
6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sage
2 Tbsp oat or quinoa flour
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp tamari
1 lb small yellow potatoes, halved (or quartered if medium-sized)
1 cup red lentils (raw, dry, uncooked)
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce (or crushed tomatoes)
3 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 large bunch curly parsley for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat until fragrant. Add onion, carrot, celery, and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, oregano, and sage. Cook 3-4 minutes more, stirring frequently. Add flour, cook and stir for 1 minute. Deglaze the pot with balsamic vinegar and tamari. 

Add potatoes, lentils, tomato sauce, water, and bay leaves. Increase heat to medium-high, and cook until just barely boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Add remaining salt and pepper.

Remove bay leaves, ladle into bowls, and garnish with a generous handful of parsley. Serves 6.

A prior version of this recipe comes from Kylie at midwestfoodieblog.com  Thanks, Kylie!