The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Gin1984 on April 06, 2014, 04:36:59 PM
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I found a great lentil and chicken recipe so I bought lentils. I still have a large amount left but the only other recipes I can find are for soups, and I don't care for soup. Does anyone have lentil recipes that are not soup?
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I like to use them instead of where I'd use ground beef. For example, lentil tacos. Use the same spices, perhaps a bit more than the recipe calls for, if the original recipe is for beef. I'm currently working on refining a lentil-loaf recipe, and they're pretty good with a lemon-tahini sauce over rice. I don't know if it counts as soup really, but I make a saag gosht inspired recipe that I use lentils instead of goat for (by which I mean I make the greens part and then add in appropriately spiced lentils).
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I cook lentils with carrots, onions, celery, and green curry paste for a bit of a kick. I just use the amount of water recommended on the package and they turn out like cooked beans (thick) rather than like soup.
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One weird thing I like is lentils cooked like rice with vegetable chunks. It gets really mushy, kind of like mashed potatos, but yet I love it! Sometimes I'll use bouillon instead of water.
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I have the Moosewood Cookbook and the recipe below is from that. It's one of my favorite lentil salad recipes. I eat it year round. If there are a few ingredients you don't like or don't have, you can leave them out. You can put this on a bed of lettuce or eat it as is. I frequently pair it with pita and hummus.
http://www.theparsleythief.com/2010/03/lentil-bulgur-salad.html
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I'm a fan of lentil tacos. Still perfecting my recipe but just made it tonight and it turned out quite good.
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup lentils. Ideally pre-soak them in water and a little lemon juice for a min of 4 hours.
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 onion
Your preferred taco fixings. I usually do a little cheese, lettuce, and salsa.
Saute the onion diced up in olive oil, then add everything else in, bring to a boil, and simmer covered. Check on it after 25 minutes, but my lentils usually take 35-40.
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I've made lentils sautéed with spinach, garlic, and butter- very filling, esp with a fried egg on top. I've also thrown the lentils in a rice cooker with a bit of minced ginger and rice- makes the house smell great!
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I had Mujadara at a Mediterranean restaurant and loved it enough to try to duplicate at home. This recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/lebanese-lentils-rice-and-caramelized-onions-mujadara-recipe.html) came pretty close.
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This one (http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Curried%20lentils%20%231) for curried lentils is one of the first learned when I was on my own (from the NY Times Natural Foods Cookbook). Good enough for multiple meals.
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These look incredible. Can't wait to try them! Keep posting new lentil ideas, we're pretty much meat-free at home, and I'm looking for summer lentil cooking ideas.
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What kind of lentils?
Red lentils are really good with coconut and curry paste.
French green lentils are awesome simmered with chicken stock, butter, carrots, onions, garlic and plenty of thyme. Plain brown lentils would probably be good this way too.
The medium brown or black lentils that hold their shape when cooked are a good addition to chicken or tuna salads to make them a meal.
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Something I make fairly often:
Lentils with Garlic and Tomatoes
1 cup brown lentils
4 cloves garlic, minced
~1/2 can (28 oz) whole or diced tomatoes, chopped (or 3 - 4 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp thyme
~1 tsp salt
Wash the lentils. If you prefer, you can cook them for about a half hour in about 2 cups of water until they are tender before proceeding with the recipe -- I've done it both ways. Some lentils are old and tough and will never get soft if I don't cook them beforehand.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan; when it sizzles and starts to get golden, add the chopped tomatoes (careful -- it will splatter a bit) and cook at fairly high heat until the tomatoes are pastelike. Add the lentils, thyme, and about 2 1/2 cups water (only add the water if you have not precooked the lentils) and simmer until lentils are fully cooked. Add salt to taste. Serve over rice. We like to have yogurt mixed with a little dill as a sauce, with a green salad on the side, and maybe some pita or other good bread.
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Madras lentils - http://www.food.com/recipe/madras-lentils-499587. These are so good! Coconut milk works in place of the cream, I've subbed extra lentils for the red beans, and I've used Ro-tel tomatoes rather than crushed tomatoes + chilies. I prefer serving over rice.
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I've made this salad before and it was a hit: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/lentil-quinoa-salad-recipe.html
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I like this lentil loaf:
http://www.food.com/recipe/lentil-loaf-51628
I always add a couple of eggs for protein and to help bind everything together.
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Commenting so I can follow this thread. I'd love to cook more with Lentils beyond soup, which gets boring after a while. Keep the ideas coming!
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http://ohsheglows.com/2013/11/13/lentil-mushroom-walnut-balls-with-cranberry-pear-sauce/
http://cookieandkate.com/2013/lentil-and-mushroom-meatballs/
The above recipes are for lentil meatballs. They are so tasty with pasta or spaghetti squash and marinara. I also make veggie burgers with lentils.