We Love Lentils

No, really, lentils are quite popular in this household.  A staple pretty much all year round, for soups, side dishes, salads, you name it.  Here are two awesome lentil dishes to get you through the first chills of fall.

This lentil soup recipe comes from A Taste of Mexico by Kippy Nigh.  It's easy, healthy and delicious, and one of the most requested soups in this house.  This makes a big batch for just two people, but I usually freeze half of every soup batch I make, and this one reheats very well.

Sopa de Lenteja
© 1996 by Kippy Nigh
Serves 6-8

2 Tablespoons olive oil
8 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 pound tomatoes, peeled and chopped
6 cups water
1 pound lentils
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 chipotle chiles
1/2 pound swiss chard

Saute the garlic, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add [I just totally typed "ass"] the tomatoes and saute another 10 minutes. Add the water and lentils, bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat until the lentils are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the salt, the chiles, and swiss chard, and cook 15 more minutes before serving.

I tweak Kippy's recipe slightly for ease of preparation and added heat: Use canned chopped tomatoes, drained, instead of peeling and chopping them yourself.  Use 3-4 canned chipotles in adobo sauce, seeding the chiles and cutting them into thin strips before adding to the soup.  Also stir in a teaspoon of the adobo sauce.  Serve with warmed corn tortillas, tortilla chips or saltines.

I made this lentil loaf for dinner last night, with creamy garlic mashed potatoes and a buttery veggie gravy.  It was so good I reheated it again tonight, alongside hot, crusty baguette.  It would also make great stuffings for pita or any other type of sandwich.  I think my version of lentil loaf is the best I've ever had; it's tender, savory and, quite intentionally, a little sweet.  And, I know this is controversial, but there's no ketchup coating!

Lentil Loaf
© 2008 by Alexis McKinnis
Makes 8 hefty slices

6 ounces dried lentils
1 15-ounce can dark red kidney beans, drained
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup frozen spring peas
1 teaspoon ground chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 egg
1 red bell pepper, finely shredded
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup pecans, ground
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon ketchup
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook lentils according to package directions, drain and set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 and grease loaf pan.  Saute garlic, onion and peas in the oil over medium heat until onions are soft.  Add chili powder, cumin and coriander and cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat.  Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and add drained lentils, drained kidney beans and egg.  Blend with immersion blender until smooth.  Add all remaining ingredients and mix with large spoon until thoroughly combined.  Spoon into prepared loaf pan, patting down to form a flat surface.  Bake for 1 hour.

Comments

[Brian]

Well thanks for the recipes. I was thinking about making something new this weekend and I think Lentil Loaf will be it.

[Christian]

There are very few women from whom I would accept a portion of assed tomatoes.

They exist, but they are very few.

[geoff]

when I want lentils I go to Emily's for mujadara (sp?)

[Marchelle]

Where do you get your Swiss chard? I've been having trouble finding it.

[Alexis]

Actually, I have too, but thought it was a Cub Foods thing. I've made the soup with collard greens instead and, when I made it last night, I just diced up some yukon golds in place of greens.

[ldfs]

Thanks for the lentil loaf recipe! I tried it out this weekend, but since I am allergic to nuts, I substituted roasted pumpkin seeds for the pecans. It turned out great. I don't have an immersion blender, but I found it worked well to mix that first batch of ingredients in a food processor (it just barely fit). Yum-may