Chef critique
Berbere Red Lentil Stew with Garlicky Kale
A well-structured, flavorful, and accurately seasoned weeknight stew with clear prep-first instructions, though Step 2 combines unrelated ingredients that should be split.
Score: 9/10
Suggested fixes
- Split Step 2 so that prepping the kale is its own step, or group rinsing the lentils and juicing the lemon with the aromatic prep in Step 1.
Issues
- low / clarity: Step 2 groups unrelated preparation tasks together (stemming and slicing kale, rinsing dry lentils, and juicing a lemon) rather than keeping each step focused on a coherent component.
Strengths
- Instructions begin with thorough mise en place, clearly specifying divided amounts for garlic and ginger.
- Salt quantities are spot-on at roughly 1% by weight for both the lentil stew and the kale, using Diamond Crystal kosher salt by volume.
- Formatting of the bulleted aromatic and spice additions in Step 4 follows guidelines cleanly.
- Time, yield, calorie, and portioned cost estimates are realistic and consistent across the recipe.