Lentils!

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

Does anyone else love lentils?

I am obsessed, I recently made black lentil dahl and it was wonderful. I found some red and some yellow lentils recently (just under the kitchen bench lol) and made mediterranean style lentils.

Does anyone else love lentils or have some good recipes?

[christy]

I love lentils as well. I make dahl, lentil soup and sometimes I add red lentils cooked into my humous.

[~Kim~]

I sometimes use them instead of mince in bolgnese.

[canberramomma]

YUMMY LENTILS!!! I make an Ethiopian/Kenyan dish with lentils and veggies and spices with couscous and I love lentil and pumpkin lasagne. I put them in heaps of things. I just love the flavour and the texture.

[Pandora]

oh come on guys, recipes please!

I love lentils but DH is not a fan, so I get to eat them less than I'd like.
Puy lentils are great in salads and others in dals.
mmmm now Im hungry!

[Rouge]

Do you know lentils are one thing I have not mastered. I LOVE dahl and pea & ham soup, but thats as far as the culinary exploration with lentils goes! I really do need to explore more with lentils so recipes (tried and true) for me too please!

OH and speaking of couscous, how do you get it to not taste like plastic?! I have only ever had bad luck with couscous lately. We bought a really good batch once but lately it all tastes like crap!

[Pandora]

Do you cook your cous cous with stocks?
I like the organic cous cous thats in the health food isle (well it is at my coles), in a screw top plastic "jar".
Getting the water quantity just right is half the battle.
Lately though I have been eating less couscous in favour of quinoa, as DS likes it and theres a different nutritional value.

[canberramomma]

I always use veggie stock in my cous cous. Sometimes I add a small amount of Harissa or Berbre or Chermoula to spice it up. I tried quinoa, but I wasn't overly impressed. Maybe I didn't make it right. It's very pricey here, so I'm happy to stick with cous cous and buhrgul.

I don't really follow recipes as such, but I'll do my best. Here goes:

Ethiopian/Kenyan lentils (Wat)

melt some ghee in a large frypan, add ginger, garlic and berbre to taste and stir over low heat until fragrant. Add diced red or yellow capsicum. Add lentils (I use red ones coz I love them!) and diced tomatoes and veggie stock. Cook till desired texture is achieved - I like mine still a little crunchy, but I know some like them much softer. Serve with buhrgul, cous cous or flat bread.

Pumpkin and lentil lasagne

Put chopped onion, garlic, chopped red capsicum, sage, oregano and bay leaf in a large pan with olive oil. Heat on low till onion and capsicum soften. Add red lentils, tomato paste, diced tomatoes (I usually use fresh, but tinned works well too) and veggie stock. Cook on low for about 5 mins. Add cooked, pureed pumpkin. Cook to desired consistancy (again it depends how you like your lentils.

Make cheese sauce for lasagne. I make mine with 1 kg of natural yoghurt, 2 eggs and grated cheese - just mix all together keeping some cheese aside for the top of the lasagne.

Start layering with your choice of lasagne sheets. Sprinkle leftover cheese on top. Bake in oven till top is golden.

This recipe also works as a pasta bake or use the sauce as a pasta sauce, which makes vegans happy.

[Bloom]

Thanks for the recipes!

Lentils are the last great frontier for getting my DH to eat healthily and cheaply. I've got him hooked on kidney beans, cannelli beans and now chick peas. I've also seen recipes for lentils in a loaf type thingy - like vegan meat loaf.

Will have to try some of these this weekend.