Lentils

Well, first of all there are several types of lentils. I like lentil soup, try red lentil (Mediterranean) style or brown lentil, which is more of a stew, with carrots, onions etc.. There are these tiny French lentils (I forget what they are called) and those are nice to add to salads. Using the brown lentils I also make a mock chopped liver dip. Saute onions and then add a 1:1 ratio of cooked lentils and walnuts (so for example a 1/4 cup of each). Grind them all together, with salt to taste.

I buy mine dry. I check them over for small stones on a piece of white paper a small group at a time. Then I rinse them well. I put them in a pot and cover with water about an inch or more above the level of the lentils--keep checking and stirring and add water as needed. I cook them on a very low flame, covered with a little air (I tilt the cover) until tender and then add coarse salt. I make a fairly large batch because I freeze some for days that I'm on the run.

In a smaller sauce pan I pour in EVOO, and "tritato" which is finely chopped onion, carrot, celery, parsley, and garlic. I saute this--let it "sweat" as they say. When it's softened a bit I add it to my lentils with tomato (pureed, or chopped), a bay leaf, pepper, and paprika or, if you like spicey, red pepper flakes. I cook all this on a low flame with it covered as before. Once it all cooks down, I adjust for taste.

I use this recipe on pasta (small to medium pasta-al dente), or with rice. Sometimes I'll just heat it as a side and serve with veggies.

PS: The best lentils here , in Italy, come from the mountains and are small. The Collefiorita plane in the mountains above Norcia.

Try this for some ideas
https://biancazapatka.com/en/red-lentil-dahl/

I mostly do soups and stews. I get most of my recipes on Pinterest

My favorite salad is super simple! French lentils, chopped beets, feta, and arugula...all tossed in lemon juice, red wine vinegar and a tiny splash of olive oil. The BEST!

I love lentils stews (usually with onion, carrots, potatoes, seasoned with rosemary and laurel), but I also prepare meatballs or burgers with them, mixed up with some veggies. In winter I often crave lentils+mixed cereals soups, they are amazing!

I use the recipe from “River Cafe - Easy” for a carby side. Boil green whole lentils with several cloves of peeled halved garlic cloves for 20-25 until al dente. Do not over cook— they should be chewy. Drain, pick out the garlic, and dress in vinaigrette made with 3 parts olive oil to 1 part lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Google mejadra or mujjadara for a classic middle eastern take on spiced lentils with rice. I wouldn't bother with deep frying the onions though, and just buy ready made fried onions. The type used for American Thanksgiving bean casserole.

BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »

Another vote for all the many and varied Dhals!

Particularly good is an Ethiopian dish called ‘Kik Alicha’. Here’s the recipe I use:

https://foodaciously.com/recipe/ethiopian-yellow-split-peas-kik-alicha

I’m also fond of a Beetroot Dhal:

https://www.rebelrecipes.com/beetroot-dal-with-roast-beetroot-and-gram-flour-flatbreads/

I also use them, alongside various beans, where appropriate, and loads of vegetables to make chilli and pasta sauces.

Stuffed peppers/courgettes etc. I use the little split red lentils to make tortilla style flatbreads etc.

You’ll never go hungry with a packet of dried lentils in your cupboard!

Thanks for sharing that link to Rebel Recipes. I have been checking it out. That is an amazing blog and I see lentils feature heavily in the recipe index there: https://www.rebelrecipes.com/recipe-index/
Makes me hungry!

I like draining and washing canned lentils, adding some vinegar and mustard, cut apple and red onion, and canned mackerel on oil, including about half the oil from the can. It's one of my favourite salads and one of only 3 ways I will eat lentils (the others being mercimek koftesi and lentil stew)