What can i/do i do with these lentils ?

slowandsteady_2

Hi everyone, have tried a search for any ideas but not much luck. I have 2 packets of dried lentils in the cupboard one red and one green, neither need soaking but green packet says its better if they are.

I tried cooking the red ones once according to instructions but they 'disappeared' and all i seemed to end up with was a pan of red coloured water. Is that what should have happened:o?

Anyway im sick of looking at them in the cupboard and am loathe to throw them as i havent even opened the green ones.

Any ideas what i can do with them and maybe a better way of cooking them?

I have a slow cooker, am not a fab cook but not too bad either

Thanks in advance for any ideas:D

whatatwit

Use the red ones for bulking out things, spag bol etc
Or, you could make Weezl's lentil pate.

rainbowsprite

I would use the red one to make a nice pot of lentil soup.

Lentils, veg and stock and hey presto! Not made soup in the slow cooker yet. I am sure other os people will be abel to give you advice.

Sorry not cooked with green lentils before

HTH

x

slowandsteady_2

If they are added to bulk things out do i need to cook them first? Sorry i must sound so daft!

whatatwit

slowandsteady wrote: »

If they are added to bulk things out do i need to cook them first? Sorry i must sound so daft!

I would possibly soak the green ones first, but the red ones usually dissolve and vanish in cooking. Especially if you are cooking something for a while.

slowandsteady_2

Thanks everyone, i think i'll throw some in a spag bol or curry

loocyloo

have fun!

i use red lentils in tomato type dishes ( lasagne, bolognese etc ) and green lentils in 'brown' ... shepherds pie, casserole etc

and both in curries!

i made the mistake of buying green lentils that needed pre cooking, so i cooked the whole lot, and froze in portions, so i could easily add to whatever i was cooking.

someone somewhere, told me, that although you don't need to pre-cook red lentils, it is better to precook them, if you are adding them to a tomato based dish, as the tomato stops them softening ?!!

xxx

slowandsteady_2

Thanks loocylou, ive read many times the top tip of buliking mince out with them, just couldnt work out if i just threw them in or boiled em. Well whats the worst that can happen!

Trinny

Hi there

You can add a handful of red lentils - uncooked - into any bolognaise chilli or casserole, you probably wont taste them - so good for bulking out and for smuggling into foods if you have fussy eaters in the house

I feel your pain:o for a few years i had bags of dried pulses and chickpeas in the cupboard and the thought of pre soaking and cooking was just more hassle than i could cope with.

Until i met Thriftlady who recommended cooking the whole batch according to the instructions on the back of the pack - then cooling and freezing in portion sizes.

Since then i have made Mr S chickpea and spinach curry, and made a kind of mediteranean soup with whoops chorizo and beans from the freezer:T

It was a pain in the a$$ to do all the soaking and cooking - but now they are stashed in the freezer it is really easy to use them up.

I think green lentils are presoaked - not sure.

bite the bullet - IMHO cook em all and stash em in the freezer ready for use.

Trin

slowandsteady_2

Thanks Trin you definately reassured me about just chucking em in something! Unfortunately, OS has become my life at the moment since i discovered the site and i literally dont have a spare square inch in my freezers! Therefore i think i'll cook some tommorow and see what happens cos im going to make a casserole with some leftovers so i'll be able to add them to that and hopefully then make a bit of room in the freezer when i take the veg out for the casserole. OOh then I'll have more space i will have to fill!
Thanks everyone

squeaky

slowandsteady wrote: »

Hi everyone, have tried a search for any ideas but not much luck.

I'll bet you have more luck if you browse here first:-

Welcome to Old Style - PLEASE READ ME BEFORE POSTING - contains info on searching

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