Lentil “Chili” with Lamb Stock

I call it “chili” because the first thing Bill said when he tasted this soup was, “It tastes like chili!”

Last weekend I made Slow Grilled Leg of Lamb and I never like to waste any part of the animal so I boiled up the leg bone to make stock. I also happened to have some lentils I wanted to use up so I Googled “lamb stock” and “lentils.” The first result in my search was a lentil soup recipe from this blog: “Sh*t I Bake.”

I love Angela’s recipe. What I made is pretty much on par with what’s in her recipe. The only substitutions I made were tomato paste for tomatoes, since I didn’t have them on hand, and lemon juice for lemon pepper. Also, I only had 3/4 pound of lentils so I modified the recipe accordingly.

Per her instructions, I sautéed the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in olive oil until the onion was translucent.

Then I added about half a 6 0z. can of tomato paste to the oil and stirred it into the mixture.

I added about 6 cups of lamb stock, the lentils, and the following spices: ground coriander, cumin, and dried oregano, as well as salt and pepper. (See Angela’s recipe for quantities as well as how she makes her lamb stock.)

After bringing the soup to a boil, I simmered it, covered, about 40 minutes.

It turned out pretty thick so when I heated it up the next day, I added some water as well as a good squeeze from half a fresh lemon. But you could also cook up some rice to accompany this lentil dish, without thinning it, for a satisfying meal of legumes. Maybe that’s how we’ll try it tomorrow. For today, it was the perfect lunch. Filling and delicious. Thanks, Angela!

Curried Lentil Soup

I’m not a big fan of curry but Bill really likes it. So over the last couple years I’ve warmed to it by trying some recipes that contain curry. I am, however, a big fan of lentils but have trouble finding recipes that aren’t bland. That’s why I was happy to stumble upon this recipe for Curried Lentil Soup, in the December issue of Bon Appetit. It definitely is not bland!

This recipe uses French green lentils, which I happened to have on hand from my favorite gourmet food store, G.B. Russo & Son.

Aren’t they beautiful? (It got me thinking: How do lentils grow? Turns out, lentils are seeds in pods, on plants that grow about 15 inches high. And Canada is the largest exporter of lentils in the world. Who knew?)

One thing that makes this soup especially tasty is the addition of chickpeas, which are pureed with lemon, olive oil, and garlic as if you were going to make hummus. It’s pretty quick and easy to make, too.

After sauteing carrots, onions, and garlic in olive oil, you add the curry, lentils, and water. I didn’t add the whole 2 tablespoons of curry the recipe calls for, just to be conservative. Remember, I’m not a big curry fan! I think it turned out fine with 4 teaspoons. (Plus, you can always add more at the end if you’d like.)

Then let it cook about half an hour. Meanwhile, puree the chickpeas with garlic, lemon juice, water, and olive oil.

When the lentils are done, they won’t be mushy like red lentils.

Then you stir in the chickpea puree. The recipe also calls for butter but I didn’t use it, due to Bill’s cow dairy allergies. Also, the soup is garnished with green onions, but I didn’t have any. Instead, I went out to my My Winter Herb Garden and snipped some fresh cilantro, which was a nice complement to the soup.

Wheat-Free Greek Lentil Burgers on the Grill

 

Even though I consider myself a carnivore, I’ve been leaning toward flexitarianism–a semi-vegetarian diet with occasional meat consumption–for the past year or so. For one thing, it’s just plain healthy. For another, it’s more economical if you’re going to consume only grassfed meat. Besides, Americans consume way more meat than is necessary so I’m excited to challenge myself by preparing meals made of plant-based foods. 

For Christmas last year, Bill got me a cookbook: Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health. I’ve been exploring the book’s recipes and decided to make the Greek Lentil Burgers one evening–on the grill. 

This was a challenge for a couple of reasons: Like many vegetarian recipes, this one called for wheat bread crumbs, which Bill can’t eat due to his allergies. And, the recipe tells you to bake the burgers in the oven. But it was so hot that day I was determined to “bake” them on the grill. 

Here’s a photo of the original recipe. An adapted version follows. 

 

Wheat-Free Greek Lentil Burgers on the Grill 

1/2 cup dried brown lentils 

 

2 cups water 

2 T. olive oil, plus more for basting 

1 cup chopped onions 

1/2 tsp. salt 

4 garlic cloves, pressed 

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper 

 

2 tsp. ground cumin 

1 tsp. ground coriander 

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper 

1 T. fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 tsp. dried) 

1 T. fresh mint, chopped (instead of dill) 

1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained 

2 large eggs 

1 cup quick oats (instead of wheat bread crumbs) 

1/2 cup brown rice flour (instead of wheat bread crumbs)

Cook lentils in water until tender, about 35 minutes. 

Saute onions in olive oil with salt until tender. Add garlic, bell pepper, cumin, coriander, and black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in oregano and mint. 

 

In a food processor, blend chickpeas and eggs until smooth. Transfer to large bowl. 

 

 

When lentils are cooked, add the cooked vegetables, lentils, and oats to the chickpea mixture and blend well. 

 

Set aside until cool enough to handle. 

Preheat grill to 350 degrees. 

Form mixture into 1-cup balls. Sprinkle with brown rice flour and flatten into patties. 

 

Place patties on a sheet of lightly greased aluminum foil on the grill. Cook about 10 minutes on one side, then flip patties. Baste with olive oil and cook another 10 minutes. Flip again, and baste with olive oil. Cook about 2 minutes. 

Serve on Sami’s Bakery Millet and Flax Lavash with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, Kalamata olives, and fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

Photo by Ian Davis

Or, place on a bed of mixed greens with a Greek salad consisting of diced tomatoes, cucumbers, chopped red onion, Kalamata olives, lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh chopped mint. 

Moujadarah with Curry

If you read my post earlier this week about processed meats and you need a vegetarian dinner idea, moujadarah is the way to go. Also spelled mujadara, it’s basically lentils and rice. There are many variations on this dish.

When I made it recently, I Googled “lentils and rice” instead of following the recipe I made in February. The Lentils and Rice with Fried Onions recipe on Allrecipes.com served as the inspiration for what eventually became dinner. Because Bill is a big fan of curry, I thought I’d add some just for fun. It was delicious!

I like the idea of frying onions for the garnish. I used red onions for the garnish because I only had a couple of yellow onions, which I wanted to mix with the lentils.

When I cooked the lentils and onions as the recipe instructs, I simply added a teaspoon of curry to the mix while it simmered.

Then I threw in some fresh chopped flatleaf parsley.

For additional garnish, I chopped some fresh tomatoes and added olive oil, salt, and more parsley. Then I topped the moujardarah with this mixture, as well as the fried onions.

This is an easy recipe with plenty of fiber and protein. A great substitute for meat at dinnertime! A side of hummus and pita bread would complement this meal nicely.