Lentil Shepherd's Pie

Sometimes a combination of ingredients turns into a dish that seems more delicious than you would expect, and this is one of those recipes. It's just lentils and sweet potatoes, with a little well-chosen seasoning. The fresh ginger is key.  The toppings of scallions and yogurt also provide additional flavor and texture. But the bottom line is, this is a wonderful vegetarian dish, and easy to put together.

I would also recommend the cookbook I got this recipe from--I have enjoyed everything I've made from it. You can get a used copy for a very reasonable price on Amazon.

LENTIL SHEPHERD'S PIE

adapted from Good Housekeeping, Vegetarian Meals

makes 4-5 servings

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed

1 T. grated, peeled fresh ginger

1 t. ground cumin

1 can (14-1/2 oz) vegetable broth (1-3/4 cups)

1 bay leaf

2 cups water (divided 1-1/4 c. and 3/4 c.)

1 T. olive oil

1 t. curry powder

1/8 t. crushed red pepper

2 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 3 large), peeled and cut into 1" pieces

4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

plain yogurt

In a medium saucepan, combine lentils, ginger, cumin, broth, bay leaf, and 1-1/4 cups water. Heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until lentils are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Discard bay leaf and drain off almost all of the liquid. Put the lentils into a large pie-plate (10") or other shallow serving dish.

While the lentils are cooking, put the oil in a large saucepan (3-quart), and heat over medium heat. Add curry powder and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, 15 seconds. Add sweet potatoes and 3/4 cup water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Drain the potatoes, reserving the liquid. Mash the potatoes, adding enough liquid to get a smooth texture. Spoon the mashed sweet potatoes over the lentils. Sprinkle with scallions and serve with plain yogurt.

One-quarter of the recipe (without yogurt) = about 410 calories

Red curry lentils with sweet potatoes and spinach

Some years ago, I was at a Middle Eastern restaurant with my friend Kay, and we had a delicious, simple red lentil soup. Ever since, I've been on the look-out for recipes for red lentil soup. I've never found one that matches my memory of the soup in the restaurant, but the ongoing search was worth it, now that I've landed on this recipe from the New York Times. This one is a complex mix of flavors and textures that is a meal in itself, truly wonderful.

I've given the amounts of liquids (broth and coconut milk) for a stew-type consistency.  When I had leftovers for lunch, I thinned it out with water for more of a soup consistency, and it was still excellent. Of course thinning with more broth would also work.

The recipe is a little on the time-consuming time. The prep involves a good deal of chopping, and total cooking time is about 45 minutes. But worth it!

RED CURRY LENTILS WITH SWEET POTATOES AND SPINACH

adapted from 

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020766-red-curry-lentils-with-sweet-potatoes-and-spinach

Serves 5-6

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound sweet potatoes (about 2 medium sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes (You can substitute out half the amount with white potatoes, but all sweet potatoes is great.)

3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated (about 1 tablespoon)

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

1/2 T. Sriracha sauce or 1 red chile, seeded and minced (I use Sriracha)

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

1 13-ounce can coconut milk (I use "lite")

5 ounces baby spinach

½ lime, juiced (a little more lime juice is also fine)

In a Dutch oven or pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high. Add the sweet potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes. 

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pot and set the heat to medium-low. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the curry paste, garlic, ginger, Sriracha/chile and turmeric, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the lentils and stock to the pot and bring to a boil over high. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.

Add the coconut milk and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced, the lentils are creamy and falling apart, and the potatoes are fully cooked, 10-15 minutes.

Add the spinach and stir until just wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Take the pot off the heat, and stir in the lime juice.

If desired, serve over some white or brown rice. 

  

Lentil Salad Niçoise

Lentil salad Niçoise

adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020238-mediterranean-lentil-salad

serves 8 (assuming some accompanying dish, like a cold soup)

I had several people over for dinner the other night, and all raved about this main-dish salad, which I served with watermelon gazpacho soup, also a big hit. My only hesitation about the salad recipe is the time it took to prepare. Nothing complicated, just time-consuming to prep the various ingredients. The original recipe noted one hour for prep time. My sister Cookie was visiting, and it took the two of us more than that, from start to finish. The next time, I will do some of the prep the day before; I've formatted the recipe to suggest doing it that way.

About the presentation:  I put the lentils, potatoes, and tomato-onion-pepper mixture in a large low, wide bowl, topped with the fresh herbs. I had the other five ingredients (starting with anchovies in the list below) in separate bowls, lined up next to the big serving dish. I had guests serve themselves, so that they could take just the add-ons that they wanted. This worked well.

1-1/2 cups small brown or green lentils

1 bay leaf

a few thyme sprigs, tied in a bundle (optional)

salt and pepper

1-1/2 lbs tiny new potatoes

12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved (about 3 cups)

1/2 small onion, thinly sliced and soaked in ice water

2 roasted red bell peppers, cut into 2" strips (I used jarred peppers)

8 anchovy fillets (optional)

8 ounces canned tuna (for a vegetarian substitute, use canned garbanzo beans)

8 hard-boiled eggs (or just enough for however many people you're serving to have one each)

1 cup good-quality black olives, such as Kalamata or niçoise

4 ounces feta, cut into small bite-size pieces or strips

2 T. roughly chopped mint

3 T. roughly chopped parsley

small handful of basil leaves, cut into thin strips

for the vinaigrette

1/4 cup red-wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, smashed to a paste (about 1/2 t.)

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1 t. crumbled oregano

Prep that can be done the previous day. 

1.     Cook the lentils:  Rinse the lentils and put in a medium saucepan. Cover with 4 cups water and add bay leaf, thyme sprig (optional) and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer gently with lid ajar for 20-25 minutes, until lentils are tender. Drain the lentils. Store in the fridge and then let come to room temperature before serving the next day.

2.     cook the potatoes: Put the potatoes in another saucepan, cover with water, and add a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to brisk simmer. Cook about 15 minutes, until cooked through when probed with a sharp knife. Drain and let cool, then store in fridge until the next day.

3.     make the vinaigrette: In a jar with a lid, stir together the vinegar, oil, garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper, and oregano.  Put on the lid and shake all together.

4.     boil the eggs:  Make the hard-boiled eggs.  My method:  Put the eggs in a saucepan, using a size where all the eggs fit in one layer, and won't be rolling around too much. Add cold water to cover.  Put the pan on the burner, turn heat to high, and set timer for 20 minutes. When the water comes to a boil, turn it down to a simmer. When the 20 minutes is up, run cold water over the eggs until they are cooled down. They can then be stored in the fridge. When ready to peel, roll the egg on the counter so that the shell shatters all around, then peel. (They peel most easily right after they've cooked, but this usually works later as well.)

On the day dinner will be served: A couple of hours before dinner, take lentils and potatoes out of the fridge, so they can come to room temperature. Cut potatoes in quarters.

1.     make the tomato-onion-red pepper mixture:

a.     Put ice water in a medium-size bowl. Slice the red onion, and then put it in with the ice water.

b.     Halve the cherry tomatoes and put them in a medium bowl.

c.     Slice the red pepper into 2" strips, and add to the cherry tomatoes.

d.     Drain the onions (picking out the ice cubes) and add to the tomato/pepper mixture.

e.     Shake up the vinaigrette, and add half of it to the mixture, tossing to coat.

2.     assemble ingredients that will be set out as options to add in; put each in a separate small serving bowl/dish:

a.     Anchovies

b.     Canned Tuna

c.     Hard-boiled eggs, sliced

d.     Olives

e.     Feta cheese

2.     ASSEMBLE THE SALAD: Put the lentils into a large low, wide bowl or platter. Add remaining vinaigrette and toss gently. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Top lentils with tomato-onion-pepper mixture. Sprinkle with mint, parsley, and basil. Arrange quartered potatoes around the perimeter.

3.     Serve with salt, pepper, and some additional vinegar available (I used balsamic), for people to add as they wish.