lentils Archives -

December 5, 2016

Lentil Quinoa Chili

How about a warm and nourishing bowl of soup to balance out all of those holiday sweets? With all of the cookie-baking and festive gatherings, I’m already having to pace myself. This chili is an updated version of a lentil chili that Ryan’s mom would often serve during our dating years, and there are many happy memories associated with this recipe. Here I’ve added quinoa for heartiness and fresh roasted green chilis for an extra layer of flavor. Nothing against canned chilis, those are great in a pinch, but taking an extra few minutes to roast them fresh adds depth and really sets this chili apart. Having big a pot of soup simmering on the stove in the midst of this hurried and often stressful month is always calming and quieting for me. Hope it is for you too.

[Read more…] about Lentil Quinoa Chili

April 24, 2015

Baked Salmon and Lentils with Quinoa, Shaved Cucumbers, and Dilled Yogurt Sauce

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Sprouted Kitchen’s food photography workshop at Cannelle et Vanille’s beautiful studio in Seattle. After being a quiet admirer of Sara and Hugh’s work for so long and then finally being able to meet them and learn from them was like a dream for me. Both of them are so remarkably talented, yet they are so humble and approachable. It was a weekend full of refreshment and inspiration and I’m still processing it all. Our lunches and snacks were all from Sara’s new cookbook, Bowl + Spoon, and after those meals, I seriously wanted to come home and cook through her entire cookbook. Sara’s approach to “bowl foods”- mixing favorite foods with different colors, textures, toppings, and sauces- is the inspiration behind this salmon and lentils plate (could also be easily eaten in a bowl). Since both salmon and lentils are favorites in this house, I started with those then added quinoa as our grain and shaved cucumbers with microgreens for a raw vegetable. I topped it off with a creamy dilled yogurt sauce and sprinkled on some lemon muscovado sunflower seeds for crunch. Setting out all of the components and letting everyone assemble their own plate is such a beautiful way to serve and enjoy a meal. Everyone can have more of what they like, less of what they don’t like, and it seems that kids especially enjoy having some ownership of what goes on their plate. There’s lots of flexibility to this meal- you could use rice or millet instead of quinoa, chicken instead of salmon, or other shredded greens instead of the cucumbers and microgreens. Don’t leave off the lemon muscovado sunflower seeds though; it really adds the perfect finishing touch to the whole meal.

Baked Salmon and Lentils with Quinoa, Shaved Cucumbers, and Dilled Yogurt Sauce}

Ingredients

Dilled Yogurt Sauce

1 cup whole milk or lowfat plain yogurt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3-4 tablespoons fresh dill
½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Muscovado Sunflower Seeds

1 tablespoon muscovado sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 cup sunflower seeds

Lentils

1 cup french green lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup thinly sliced scallions
fine-grain sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Cucumbers

1 English cucumber
1 cup micro greens

Assembly

3 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup uncooked)
1¼ pounds baked salmon with potlatch seasoning

Instructions

Dilled Yogurt Sauce

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. Season to taste with additional salt and lemon juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Muscovado Sunflower Seeds

In a small bowl, mix together the muscovado sugar, lemon zest, and ½ teaspoon sea salt.
In a large skillet over medium heat, toast the sunflower seeds until they start to become golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle the lemon sugar mixture over the seeds and stir constantly until sugar melts and coats the seeds, about 1-2 additional minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool. Season to taste with additional salt if needed.

Lentils

Place lentils is a small pot and cover with water by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until lentils are tender and soft, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving ½ cup cooking liquid. Toss warm lentils with vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Allow lentils to rest for 5 minutes. Taste again and season with additional vinegar and salt if needed. Add olive oil and scallions and stir to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl and set aside. If lentils seem dry when ready to serve, stir in some of the reserved cooking liquid.

Cucumbers

Use a vegetable peeler to shave cucumber into ribbons, stopping when you get to the seeds. Place cucumber ribbons in a serving bowl and toss with the micro greens.

Assembly

Serve each plate with a portion of quinoa, salmon, lentils, and cucumbers with greens. Drizzle a generous amount of dilled yogurt sauce over each plate and garnish with a sprinkle of sunflower seeds.

Notes

-inspired by Sprouted Kitchen's Bowl + Spoon
-lentils from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food
-muscovado sunflower seeds from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Everyday

January 30, 2015

Winter Lentil Rice Casserole

I almost decided against posting this one because I struggle so much with photographing lentils. They never seem to look quite as good as they taste and the photos usually don’t do them justice. This winter lentil rice casserole however is such a regular at our mealtimes so I really thought it ought to have a place here. It’s an extremely versatile and flexible dish that can be taken in so many different directions. It starts off with a base of lentils and brown rice cooked together with onions, garlic, parsley, and basil. After that, I add whatever vegetables or meats that I’m in the mood for or happen to have on hand. This most recent version included roasted butternut squash cubes and spinach, but sometimes I prefer adding chicken sausage and other greens. This is excellent topped with some freshly grated parmesan and I imagine other types of cheese would also be good depending on the add-ins. I opted for French green lentils, my personal favorite, but it would be fun to experiment with other varieties of lentils as well. This is one of those warm and nourishing meals that I love feeding my family and we never seem to become tired of it.

Winter Lentil Rice Casserole

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash, about 2 pounds
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1¼ cup french green lentils, rinsed and drained
1¼ cup brown rice, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, finely diced, about 1½ cups
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup finely minced fresh parsley
¼ cup finely minced fresh basil
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces baby spinach
1 cup freshly grated parmesan

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400. Peel squash, cut in half lengthwise, and remove seeds. Chop squash into ½-inch cubes and place a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over squash cubes and gently stir to evenly coat. Roast for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool. Lower oven to 350.
While squash is roasting, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Saute onion until it starts to become translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add parsley, basil, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add lentils, rice, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer covered for 50 minutes. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
Add spinach to lentil rice mixture and stir until spinach is just wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Gently stir in squash cubes. Transfer mixture to a lightly oiled 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with parmesan.
Bake 20-30 minutes at 350, until heated through and cheese is melted.

Notes

1. Fresh herbs are best, but dried herbs can be substituted in a pinch. Use ⅓ the amount.
2. See here for my tip on cutting squash.