Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

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Lemur
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by Lemur »

Ah I just remembered…Lentil Pancakes. Three mules is notorious for eating those but I don’t recall if he has ever posted a recipe. If anyone has that…worth of a post.

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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by jacob »

Anyone using a slowcooker for their lentils?

guitarplayer
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by guitarplayer »

I cook my legumes in a slow cooker 75% of days these days, overnight. Soak them before for +6h, ideally +12h. Add 1/8 teaspoon baking soda to the first water to break them down, change the water ideally at least once. Turn out great. Tried so far with varieties of lentils, broad beans, butter beans, black beans.

OutOfTheBlue
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by OutOfTheBlue »

I recently did the 1-Pot Lentil Green Curry - https://minimalistbaker.com/1-pot-lentil-dal/ from Slevin's OP and it was great!

---

Today, I tried "Pad krapow" with lentils as the base. Didn't find any mention online. but the result was pretty good.

Pad means Stir fried and krapow means Holy (or Thai) basil.

It is a type of stir fried dish that is generally served with unsalted steamed rice (and often with a fried egg on top).

Once cooked, Thai basil gives a very particular taste for which there is no perfect substitute, but I've made pad krapow in Greece using the "Italian" basil variety, and it tasted great too.

It is a spicy dish that can be made with various base ingredients, like chicken, pork, fish or tofu, mushrooms, vegetables, etc.

This is one of the nice things with Thai cuisine, many dishes are quite modular.

Note: I boiled the lentils until ready to eat, before removing the water and starting the stir fry.

Dakotan
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by Dakotan »

I use my slow cooker for lentils pretty regularly. After 30+ years as a vegetarian, I've certainly eaten my share of legumes. Lentil-based chili and "sloppy lentils" are staples. But my lazy cooking go-to is lentil dal, which takes less than 5 minutes to throw together. For example:

1 finely chopped onion, some minced garlic and ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, ground mustard, cayenne pepper, allspice, 1 lb dry lentils, 1 can kidney beans, 4 cups broth. Dump all in the crock and cook 8-9 hours on low. Optional add chopped spinach toward the end. (If feeling extra fancy, saute the onion, garlic, and ginger in a little oil before adding to the pot. But it's not necessary.)

I'll have to try some of the other recipes in this thread. That lentil green curry linked above does look tempting.

jacob
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by jacob »

Dakotan wrote:
Tue Feb 07, 2023 10:09 pm
1 finely chopped onion, some minced garlic and ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, ground mustard, cayenne pepper, allspice, 1 lb dry lentils, 1 can kidney beans, 4 cups broth. Dump all in the crock and cook 8-9 hours on low. Optional add chopped spinach toward the end. (If feeling extra fancy, saute the onion, garlic, and ginger in a little oil before adding to the pot. But it's not necessary.)
Interestingly, I have never ever combined lentils with beans. It never even occurred to me. I have to try that.

BTW if a dish is particularly "wet", I'll usually saute the onions separately and add them at the end; not the beginning.

Salathor
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by Salathor »

My wife made a really good vegetarian tortilla soup. It was your standard tortilla soup recipe, but instead of any chicken it was a blend of lentils, black beans, and pinto beans. Very, very good. Just as good as any meat-included tortilla soup I've had. I like the lentils because they break down a little and make it creamy without the really strong texture of some other beans, which can be a turn off for me in soups.

guitarplayer
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by guitarplayer »

Thought I would share.

Image

That there is a whole squash, not processed anyhow. After a few hours of slow cooking turns out soft and succulent, skin inclusive, serve with a spoon, texture of butter. No more trying to peel a squash in fear of cutting your finger. Seeds turn out a nice addition of fat an protein, yummy to eat through. Only the tail remains somewhat hard (though you can eat that, too).

Beside the squash is a core of a cabbage - that turns out nice too.

Whole onions are great as well, and anything else, really. Minimum effort, other than the farmers in Egipt etc.

NewBlood
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by NewBlood »

This lentil soup recipe is not drastically different from some of the ones that have been posted here before, but the splash of red wine vinegar was new to me and took it to a whole other level.

(I didn't have any dill. I used 1 tsp of dried thyme and 1tsp of dried oregano, which was plenty seasoning for me)

I'm mostly posting this recipe for the website overall though. As a non-vegan, non-vegetarian who aspires to eat a lot less meat, I'm rarely excited by vegan recipes. But so many of these look great!

Laura Ingalls
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by Laura Ingalls »

The minimalist baker is a great site. She doesn’t post until she has it figured out. I like the vegan shepherds pie recipe. Although my crew said call it a lentil dish shepherds pie has lamb in it.

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grundomatic
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by grundomatic »

@guitarplayer
That is amazing. I've been passing along the butternut squash I get because of perceived effort of dealing with it.

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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by jacob »

That is clever.

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Lemur
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by Lemur »

@guitarplayer

Can this be done in an instant pot? This really is brilliant. I always pass on these type of squashes as well due to the labor it takes.
I'll just try it myself next time I get a chance to pick one up.

guitarplayer
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by guitarplayer »

Squash went viral. @Lemur, I don't have an instant pot but whatever goes for lentils in a slow cooker vs instant pot, I imagine the same would go for squash.

Fun fact: In Wales, UK, they call 'squash' a non fizzy soft drink. Like for example a concentrate juice that you then dilute with water (but I think same goes for the stuff that is ready to drink).

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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by jacob »

I wouldn't expect the physics (or the results) to be the same in a pressure cooker. The heat might not have time to diffuse inwards leading to an undercooked center of the squash. Conversely, a thick skin might even contain the energy/steam leading to a small explosion/squirt (think microwaving an egg).

guitarplayer
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by guitarplayer »

Would listen to that, the dehumidifier lessons turned out true in my flat.

============================
Slow cooking
No knead bread
Slow food movement
Permatravel
Degrowth / Permaculture Descent
Stoicism
============================

What they all have in common is that less is more.

Okay I need to put in lentils for tomorrow, good luck with everyone's squashes.

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mountainFrugal
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by mountainFrugal »

I would add that the instantpot has a slowcook option that I use all of the time for broth, chili etc. I will try the slowcooker option this week with a squash that I bought specifically for this purpose after seeing @guitarplayers post. In the past I have used the same slow cooker recipes in the instantpot that were made originally for slow cookers. Make sure to keep the seal in the open configuration to allow some of the moisture to escape similar to a regular slow cooker.

Update:
I needed to cut the top off the squash for it to fit. Cooked both pieces fine. Soft in a few hours, but left on for most of the day to soften the seeds a bit more.
1 Large Butternut with seeds in. Cut stem off as was still too tough.
2 cups chicken stock
1 Lemon
1 Palm sized piece of ginger - skinned and roughly chopped
~1 tsp cumin
Black Pepper, Salt, Paprika to taste
Blend or mash
Serve hot with fresh ground black pepper and a bit of olive oil drizzle (also Sourdough :))

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Lemur
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by Lemur »

ImageImageImageImage

Instant pot on slow cooker setting for 10 hours: the squash, cabbage, 1 bullion cube, 1 cup of lentils, knob of Ginger, 1 tablespoon of cumin. Mashes very easy with a fork.

This was really filling (maybe it was all the additional fiber from the squash skin) and I only ate two cups...and I have a bunch of leftovers that should last me all week. Had to freeze a bunch. Will blend next time and use a little less water to thicken. Maybe I'll add an onion and a potato as well. Just ate with ground pepper.

Good stuff here. I've eaten my normal rotation for a while but a good reminder to just experiment every now and then.

Gadget
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by Gadget »

Eager to expand my lentil repertoire with these recipes. Kung Pao lentils will be next.

I tried these Chocolate Lentil Brownies for fun:https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/dess ... wnies.html

I was skeptical. DH didn't like the texture, but I never met a brownie I didn't like so I thought they were surprisingly good. We don't have a food processor in the adventuremobile so I cooked the lentils to oblivion and tried to mash them with a spoon. They'd likely be better if you have a blender of some sort. They firmed up in the fridge.

Probably won't win any nutrition awards, but I found one small square of these very satisfying. Unfortunately now I have an entire pan to eat myself.

mooretrees
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Re: Lentil Appreciation + Recipe Thread

Post by mooretrees »

Thanks to all who have posted recipes here! The other day I browsed this thread and picked up a recipe or two to try out, so appreciate this resource.

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