I have to admit I have never eaten lentils before, but I was tossing around the idea of making these then my father in law (vegan) stopped over to visit, so I threw it together, and that only took a few minutes. Then cooking only took about 20 minutes, so I was able to pull together a vegan meal very quickly, and it was tasty too. I paired it with some delicious flatbread.
2 Cups Organic Red Lentils
http://www.wheat-n-things.com/grains-and-beans/beans/lentils-red-organic.html
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 large yellow onion
2 tsp Real Salt
http://www.wheat-n-things.com/baking-supplies/real-salt.html
8 Garlic Cloves
2 carrots, diced
1 tsp cracked pepper
1/4 tsp. red chile flakes
1 Tbs. minced rosemary
2 Tbs minced oregano
2 bay leaves
8 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)
Optional:
zest of 1/2 lemon
feta cheese (I used blue cheese because that is what I had on hand)
2 tsp. minced Rosemary
Cracked Pepper to taste
Rinse lentils thoroughly in a colander under cold running water. Set aside to drain. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Saute onion with 1 tsp. salt until translucent. Add garlic, chopped carrots, pepper, herbs, bay leaves and remaining salt. Stir well and saute until the carrots are just tender. Add rinsed lentils and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart. If you like, the soup can be pureed or left as it is. Remove the bay leaves.
2. Season the soup as desired with lemon juice, lemon zest, salt or pepper. You can also add the feta cheese. We just used blue cheese.
We thought this was good. I used dried herbs instead of fresh, so I should have reduced the oregano. I would have liked more carrots, too.
This recipe cooked quickly- about 20 minutes. It was my FIRST taste of lentils. I was very pleasantly surprised.
This is from the “rebar modern food cookbook”.
