Lentil Bake

Originally posted at:
https://www.easycheesyvegetarian.com/very-veggie-lentil-bake/

Ingredients:

110 g red lentils (~ 1/2 cup)
75 g white rice (~ 1/4 cup)
650 ml vegetable stock (~ 2 1/2 cups), or 2 stock cubes made up in 650ml water
1 tbsp oil
1 small leek or 1/2 large leek, sliced
1 bell pepper, diced fairly small (I used orange)
5 medium mushrooms, diced fairly small
1 small courgette (zucchini), or 1/2 large courgette, diced fairly small
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Black pepper
90 g grated cheddar cheese (~ 1 cup) 

Directions:

Boil the lentils and rice for 15-20 minutes in the vegetable stock, stirring occasionally. You'll need to stir constantly during the last 5 minutes or so, to ensure they don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Once they're cooked, don't drain the water, but instead continue stirring over the heat until enough water has boiled off for the mixture to resemble porridge.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, and add the chopped leek, pepper, mushrooms and courgette. Cook over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft.

Heat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).

Combine the cooked lentils and vegetables in a large mixing bowl, and add the paprika, cayenne pepper, and plenty of black pepper. Mix well.

Transfer half of the mixture to a baking dish, and sprinkle over half of the grated cheese. Add the remaining lentil mixture, smooth out the top, and finish with the remaining cheese.

Bake for around 25-30 minutes, until the cheese topping is golden brown and crispy.

Hot Mama Grade: A

Hot Mama Notes:

This recipe is getting to be a favorite of mine! I've made it 3 or 4 times already! It's so flexible, and as the original chef mentions, you can use whatever veggies you want!

For the first time, when I hosted bunko, I pretty much made the recipe true to recipe. Except... This was tasty Tuesday recipe at work, and there was a typo of 1.5c lentils instead of 0.5c lentils. Oops! So that's how I made it. Which is actually great. I love lentils! I just had to add more liquid. The only change beyond that was that I used green lentils and added a few carrots, thinly sliced. A great addition, I think. I did add cheese and bake it, too.

The second time I made this, I used red lentils, chicken stock, and added a pkg of fresh spinach. I also had no zucchini, but I did use a leek.  I didn't add cheese or bake it. I don't think it needs that, at all. Just added time, and dries it out some. Delicious! I think I did have mushrooms and a green pepper, but I can't remember. I may have added some of my frozen omelet veggies, which has onion, pepper, and mushrooms.

The third time, I did the same as the second except I had no leek.  Still excellent. :) I also used the last little bit of my omelet veggies. I also added 2 cloves of fresh pressed garlic cloves. 

This recipe is a winner. I'm sure I'll make it again! :D

Cooking Lentils

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-dried-lentils-on-the-stovetop-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-116321

What You Need

Ingredients

1 cup dried green, brown, or French lentils
2 cups water
1 bay leaf, 1 garlic clove, or other seasonings (optional)
1/4 - 3/4 teaspoon salt

Tools

Measuring cups
Strainer or colander
Small saucepan

Instructions

Any amount of lentils can be cooked in this manner. Just maintain the 2:1 ratio of water to lentils described below.

1. Wash Lentils: Measure the lentils into a strainer or colander. Pick over and remove any shriveled lentils, debris, or rocks. Thoroughly rinse under running water.

2. Combine Lentils and Water: Transfer the rinsed lentils to a saucepan and pour in the water. Add any seasonings being used, reserving the salt.

4. Cook the Lentils: Bring the water to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer. You should only see a few small bubble and some slight movement in the lentils. Cook, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes. Add water as needed to make sure the lentils are just barely covered.

5. Salt the Lentils: Lentils are cooked as soon as they are tender and no longer crunchy. Older lentils may take longer to cook and shed their outer skins as they cook. Strain the lentils and remove any seasonings. Return the lentils to the pan and stir in 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Taste and add additional salt as needed.

6. Seasoning and Using Cooked Lentils: Cooked lentils will keep refrigerated for about a week. Season them with olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, fresh herbs, and eat them on their own. Lentils can also be added to soups, salads, or other recipes.

Other Notes:

For weeknight meals, we like keeping green or brown lentils in our cupboard. These cook quickly and evenly without becoming mushy and are the most versatile for our recipes. Yellow, red, and orange lentils are fantastic, but since they tend to get mushy when cooked, they are usually best added to soups and sauces rather than cooked on their own.

After trying many different cooking methods for lentils, we have found that the most reliable way to cook perfectly tender lentils is to bring them to a rapid simmer, and then reduce the heat to low for the rest of cooking. You want to see just a few bubbles in the water and some gentle movement in the lentils. They will plump up nicely without splitting their skins or becoming mushy.

The other trick is to wait to add the salt or any acidic ingredients until the lentils are done cooking. These ingredients can cause the lentils to stay crunchy even when fully cooked. If you stir in the salt while the lentils are still warm, they will absorb just enough to taste fully seasoned.

It's also important to buy the freshest lentils you can find and then use them within a few months. Older lentils take longer to cook and tend to shed their skins during cooking. You may also see tiny white flecks where the lentil started to sprout. They're still tasty and entirely edible, but just not as presentation-worthy.

Once cooked, your lentils are ready for any kind of culinary action you want to throw at them. They can be tossed into both green salads and grain salads, used in sandwich wraps, added to soups and chilis, or even made into veggie burgers. Some nights, I love a simple bowl of warm lentils tossed with good olive oil and vinegar with a poached egg to complete the meal.

Red Lentil Soup

Original Recipe at: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lentil-Soup-with-Lemon/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=red%20lentils&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
• 
  

• 1 (32 ounce) carton chicken broth
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
• 1 pinch chili powder

Directions:

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has turned golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, kosher salt, black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon of chili powder. Cook and stir 2 minutes more until the spices are fragrant.
2. Stir in the chicken broth, lentils, and carrot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.
3. Pour half of the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot. Do not puree all of the soup, leave it a little chunky.
4. Stir in the lemon juice and cilantro, then season to taste with salt. Drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of chili powder to serve.

Hot Mama Notes: This soup is very tasty!  I made the following changes to it.  I didn't have any tomato paste, so I used a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes instead.  I know, not really a similar substitution given the volume!  To compensate, I used 1.5 cups of lentils to suck up all the extra fluid.  This worked really well.  Plus, I used two 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth instead of a 32 oz box, so some of the extra liquid went there, too.  :)  I never did add the lemon juice or cilantro at the end, even though I had both items.  I did not put anything in the blender since I am lazy.  I don't mind a chunkier soup.  This soup is very good.  I will definitely make it again!!! :)  Easy and tasty and healthy, you just can't beat that!! :)

Hot Mama Grade: A