The lentil/bean thread

tiff

Its the end of the month and I spent my last £10 on food on Friday. We have plenty of things in the cupboard and freezer so I went online looking for lentil recipes as I've had a large bag in the cupboard but didnt know what to do with them apart from lentil soup.

I came across this recipe and made it last night to see if we would like it (I loved it, DH is away and kids arent keen)

You can make it with storecupboard ingredients, I made it without onion as I didnt have one and it turned out very tasty. You might have to adapt the recipe to the size of your family, you can also add in roasted vegetables. I've eaten it today in pitta bread with some extra soy sauce but I would imagine its also lovely in a salad.

Honey Baked Lentils

1 cup lentils (I used green)
2 cups water
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soysauce or tamari
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ginger
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
salt & pepper to taste

Bake in a covered dish at 350 until tender (about an hour and a half).
You could also substitute 1/3 cup of rice or barley for some of the lentils…and add whatever “winter” vegetables you have on hand. When I made it, I used squash and potatoes. It was delicious.
We ate this as a soup, but it could also be eaten over brown rice or quinoa, or on some flatbread. We eat it as the main dish, but it would be a great side dish as well. Can’t wait to make this again!

thriftymanc

This sounds lovely. You used dry lentils, right? I've got loads of tinned lentils which don't need the soaking, just wondering if I could do this on the hob without the water... suppose I can try it and see what happens! I love cooking with tinned lentils, I can make a giant pot of chilli in about 5 minutes flat that'll do me 2 or 3 dinners, so much quicker than cooking with meat never mind cheaper!

tiff

Yes I used dry lentils but you could probably do it on the hob with tinned like you said. Also in the slow cooker. It tasted divine but I didnt add anything extra, would imagine roasted veg would taste great with it. We usually have bean chilli but I will have a go at using lentils as I never thought of that!

thriftymanc

Tried it on the hob and it was yummy - thanks again! Just did it with some plain rice as that was all I had in today, but next time I might try it with some veg.

Lentil chilli is great, I just dump a load in instead of mince, I love things like that because you really can use whatever's in, I'll use kidney beans, butter beans etc, just to use up what's in the cupboard and then whack a load of lentils in.

Lip_Stick

I've just come back from Turkey and had this as a starter. Wrap in lettuce and add the juice of a wedge of lemon.

Red Lentil Balls

The first time we had it at the hotel there was quite a little chilli added, which I didn't mind. The 2nd time, there was none added at all so I wonder if someone moaned it was too hot.

tiff

Glad you liked it thriftymanc, I would def make it again.

The red lentil balls look great, I like the idea of it being wrapped in lettuce.

Gigervamp

I love lentils. I know that a lot of the Old Stylers use oats to bulk up mince but I prefer to use lentils as they're full of protein.

You don't need to soak red lentils so they're a good store cupboard standby.

I make a soup using red lentils, tin of toms, onion and garlic, a bit of stock and water and various herbs and spices (cumin and chilli is usually in there somewhere along with ginger). Tis lovely!

redmel1621

Gigervamp wrote: »

I love lentils. I know that a lot of the Old Stylers use oats to bulk up mince but I prefer to use lentils as they're full of protein.

You don't need to soak red lentils so they're a good store cupboard standby.

I make a soup using red lentils, tin of toms, onion and garlic, a bit of stock and water and various herbs and spices (cumin and chilli is usually in there somewhere along with ginger). Tis lovely!

What quantity of red lentils do you use(roughly)? I would love to experiment with some lentil recipes and your soup sounds gorgeous

Gigervamp

I have 4 adults to feed so I usually use 2 cups and then have some left over to freeze.