Confession time re: lentils......

Beebop

I made a batch of ragu tonight and as I have read so many threads on here about bulking mince out with lentils I thought I'd give it a go.
Now, I'm a fan of lentils anyway, so chucked a few in with the rest of the ingredients - smelt and looked delicious and tasted OK too.....but the texture!!! How unpleasant! Horribly grainy I thought.
Have I done something wrong or should I be banished from the OS board for being unable to bulk out mince with lentils and get a decently textured meal?
I'm so disappointed

P.S Ragu recipe is one I've made for years and no problems previously.

Pink.

Hi Beebop,

Did you add red or green lentils? I made a cottage pie this evening and bulked it out using red lentils...they take about half an hour to cook down into the sauce, but green lentils take quite a bit longer. I find adding slightly more liquid and cooking for a little longer helps to make sure the lentils are cooked through and won't leave a gritty texture. Don't be too disappointed, next time just cook for a bit longer.

There's an earlier thread on bulking out ragu type sauces so I'll add your thread to it later as your question may help others with the same problem.

Pink

Bombchelle

I usually bulk out my meat with onions and carrots. Have never tried lentils and honestly it doesn't sound very appealing...

[Deleted User]

I do chuck a handful of lentils in if I am using my SC and it does work very well but then I guess the SC process softens them up
I also use dry sage and onion stuffing mix or porridge oats to bulk out stews and mince ect

thriftlady_2

I have NEVER used lentils to 'bulk out meat'. I do, however, cook lentils often but as a lentil dish not as a way of stetching meat. I like my ragu sauce to be meaty not lentilly.

The ones I like best are the little dark ones. They are useful to have in the fridge cooked. you can make them into salads with the addition of something bright and exciting like roast peppers, peas, red onions, lots of mint and some goat's cheese. They're good added to spiced rice with crisply fried onions as a satisfying main dish. Lentils braised in wine are lovely served with sausages and they make lovely soups.

I think it does a disservice to the lentil to treat it as something that can be disguised as meat.

smithyjules

My Hubby refuses Lentils in all forms (something to do with his veggie mum and hard financial times as a kid!!) so i use oats to bulk out mince dishes.

I usually chuck in a good handful stir them in and then leave for about 10 mins. I once stirred too much and got gloop so am now careful not to stir too much!

The oats have a nice almost nutty chewy texture and we quite like it.i don't use them to replace meat as such, more to thicken the sauce and make it go further for one extra meal. Works well for chilli, bolognese etc.

thriftlady_2

I find a much better way to stretch meat is simply not to have it on several days in the week. We do this, here is my menu for this week.

Monday -leftover roast pork, salad, baked spuds

Yesterday - salmon, broccoli and asparagus all bake on a tray together with potato chunks baked on another tray

Today -chickpea and vegetable stew served with couscous

Thursday- Tomato and goat's cheese tart. salad

Friday- Vegetable curry, dahl (lentils) and rice

Saturday- spaghetti and ragu sauce (minced beef)

Sunday -lamb kebabs (OH's birthday BBQ-weather permitting)

3 meat menus -one of leftovers, one fish and 3 veg

Beebop

Thank you for all you replies! I'd used red lentils - as a committed carnivore it'll teach me to stop messing with my meat dishes!!
Still, least I gave it a go!

ubamother

I find bulking out with a handful or two of oats doesn't change the texture in the way that lentils can - thickens the liquid too.

NoahsPennilessMummy

I`m with Thriftlady on this one:D

We bulk buy rare breed meat from a local farm and will have so many meat meals a week, a fish one and a couple of veggie/pasta/rice ones. In this way we are getting excellent quality meat but still keeping cost down.
I did once try bulking out a ragu with red lentils and didnt like the powdery texture to be honest:rolleyes:

larmy16

I have had a couple of experiences regarding the red/orange lentils. They remained hard despite cooking them for a long time. I threw them away in the end and then kicked myself as I realised I could have made a microwave heating pad with them.

Sometimes you can just get duff dried beans. It's partly why I tend to get the tinned ones. I have made some lovely soup with the orange ones too though.

If you are stupid, then so am I!!:D