Snobby Joes.

I can't decide if I've told you about Snobby Joes before. I searched the blog, and couldn't find them, so I if I have already let you in on this gem of a recipe, let this serve as a friendly and gentle reminder. This is one of my favorite things I make. It's easy and delicious, and it's really versatile. We aren't big "Sloppy Joes" fans, so we don't serve this on rolls. I usually make baked potatoes (sweet or white - both are good with this one), rice, or just roasted vegetables. The thing about these, is that they have this deliciously rich tomato sauce, and they are thick with lentils and vegetable. As you may have guessed, I could eat lentils every day of the week, so it's always nice when I find a recipe that is easy to cook, ANY day of the week! One hint to this recipe, is that if you can find Goya lentils in a can, it's even quicker, and easier to both make and clean up. The only issue I have with recipe is.... (drum roll please)...

Kevin only thinks it's medium. Like, 3 Bowls, medium. What a bummer. I hate when that happens. It makes me very whiny. But alas, I will continue to make it, because it is so good. He's clearly, just wrong. Please try this, and pick a side. Kevin or Marji. Who will you choose?





Make this. Please. I say 5 Bowls. Kev says 3.


Snobby Joes

1 cup uncooked green lentils (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
4 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 green pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup (You can use agave nectar too, and you don't need to use as much as 3 tbl. Just add it "to taste")
1 tablespoon yellow mustard

4 to 6 kaiser rolls or sesame buns (optional – for serving)

Put the lentils in a small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done boiling, preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute a minute more. Add the cooked lentils, the chili powder, oregano and salt and mix. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.Turn the heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld, or go ahead and eat immediately if you can’t wait.

Isa's Lotsa Veggies Lentil Soup

As you may know, we love lentil soup in our house. It's funny, though, because there are some specific flavors that I think of, when I think lentil soup. I think Indian, tomato, barley, or even chicken and sweet potatoes. This recipe called for a bunch of things I would never think to put in a lentil soup, including tarragon, thyme, spinach, and zucchini. I didn't think I'd like it at all - especially when I took my first whiff, and it had a really "herbal" aroma, that I immediately disliked. After an hour of simmering, however, it looked and smelled divine in my house. The end result, was absolutely perfect, and tasted very different than the typical lentil soups I make. The other nice thing about this soup, is that it was a soup, and not a stew, which is usually how my soups turn out. This soup almost reminded me of a chicken soup, but you didn't miss the chicken. Amazingly flavorful, complex, and delicious.





Get the book. Make the food. Tell me about it. 5 Bowls.

Sesame Red Lentils

I'm not really sure I should have been writing about this recipe, because it tasted remarkably similar to most of the things I cook. Had I followed this recipe exactly, I think I would have loved it. Unfortunately, I used brown lentils instead of red, and vegetable oil, as opposed to peanut. I think those substitutions didn't make this a unique recipe. It should have had a uniquely Asian, sesame flavor, and the flavor was way too subtle to detect. I still loved this dish, but it was sort of boring, and left me wishing I had made one of my go-to lentil soup recipes, instead. It's certainly a solid recipe, but it wasn't particularly memorable, in comparison to other lentil dishes in my repertoire. If this sounds good to you, you should definitely give it a try. Made the right way, I'm sure it's delicious. Made my way, it was only "good." But hey, some dinners are only... good. Right?





Maybe you should make this, and actually follow the recipe. 3 Bowls, with the potential for 4!

Sesame Red Lentils

Lentils and sesame seeds combine in this savory, nutty side dish to provide about 10 percent of daily magnesium needs.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)


2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (about 4 medium)
2 cups dried small red lentils
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Heat oils in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots; cook 3 minutes or until tender. Add lentils, 1 1/2 cups water, soy sauce, salt, and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in green onions. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.


CALORIES 210 (14% from fat); FAT 3.3g (sat 0.4g,mono 1g,poly 0.9g); IRON 3.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 45mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31.5g; SODIUM 310mg; PROTEIN 14.3g; FIBER 7.7g

Cooking Light, AUGUST 2006

Rotini with Lentil Bolognese

Seriously? I'm actually going to create a post about eating pasta for dinner? Um, yeah. I am.

I actually used to make whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, every single night, as a side dish, to whatever we were having for dinner. We loved it, but it was a tad excessive - know what I mean?

Anyway, now we all really miss our daily pasta, and since with was a holiday week, and we were both exhausted and itching for some nice comfort food, pasta fit the bill. I really like meat sauce, but since I no longer eat red meat, I have been looking for a substitute, that adds a nice, hearty texture to a pasta sauce. I found this Lentil Bolognese recipe on Epicurious, but the reviews were a tad less than stellar. I ended up doctoring the recipe, to the point where is is basically nothing like the Epicurious version, though I used their recipe as base for inspiration. I will post my recipe below, and if you want to see the original, just click the link! Anyway, this tasted really good. I loved the flavor - Spicy, salty (but not too salty), sweet (but not too sweet!), and hearty. The only issue I had with this recipe, was that the lentils never really cooked well. There is actually a scientific explanation for this, but basically, when you try to cook dried beans in tomato broth, the acidity makes it almost impossible for the beans to get soft. So, basically, I cooked this for a full hour, and the lentils were soft enough, but not really as soft as I would have liked them. My remedy for this? Next time, I will use canned lentils (drained and rinsed), or I will partially cook them separately, then add them for the final 20 minutes of cooking. I personally think this will be crucial, to making this a second time. It didn't matter, because it was a lovely dish, with a lot of leftovers. I will make this again. It was easy, tasty, and a super comforting end, to a long and eventful weekend!

I used whole wheat rotini, which made this even heartier. Mmmmmm.

A big hunk of leftover, homemade focaccia, rounded out this meal very nicely. Jonah loved this bread!


Nothing like a chunky, vegetable ragu.
You should probably make this. Let me know how you modify it, and let me know how your lentils come out! 4 Bowls - gotta take a point off, for toothsome lentils!

Pasta with Lentil Bolognese

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
1-2 stalk celery, chopped
1 Bell Pepper, chopped (I used yellow)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 (15-ounce) cans chopped tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped OR pureed (juice reserved)
1 1/4 cups dried French green lentils or regular brown/green lentils
Coarse sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 tsp of dried basil
1/4 tsp seasoning salt (I used Penzey's 4S Seasoned Salt)
Bay Leaf
3-4 cups of Chicken or Veggie Broth
Dash of crushed red pepper

1 pound shaped pasta, such as cavatappi, rigatoni, or ziti
Pecorino cheese, grated or shaved (optional, but tastes better that way)
Fresh basil, chopped (optional)

Preparation

1. In a large pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and cook slowly until the vegetables soften and turn golden, about 20 minutes.

2. Increase heat to medium-high and add the tomato paste. Cook until the mixture dries out a bit, about 3 minutes. Pour in the reserved juice from the tomatoes and cook, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the liquid has reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, and 1 cup water OR broth (I used broth, as per reviews!). Add seasonings and bay leaf (and whatever else you want!)Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Season with the salt and pepper and simmer until the lentils are tender, 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the lentils. (If the sauce begins to dry out, add additional water as needed - I ended up having to add at least 2 cups of broth, throughout the cooking.) Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

** If you choose to use rinsed and drained, canned lentils, you should probably use 2 cans, and add them in the last 10-20 minutes of cooking. I'm not sure how this would change the reduction of the sauce though... Any thoughts on this?

4. Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain. Serve with the lentil sauce, sprinkle with the pecorino, and garnish with the basil, if desired.

The Best Red Lentil Soup

I have tried dozens of lentil soup recipes, ranging from incredibly simple, to very time and labor intensive. This basic red lentil soup recipe is so easy, and so delicious. I've been making it for a couple of years, and I really can't find any other recipe that is comparable in taste. I found this recipe on 101cookbooks.com, which is a site hosted by Heidi Swanson, who calls herself a "Supernatural Cook." Her recipes look and taste delicious, and this is no exception. It is definitely one of her easier dishes, and it only has a few basic, cheap ingredients. If you are new to the world of lentils, or even just new to the world of red lentils, you should try this. It is the ultimate comfort soup. It would also be terrific, with the addition of any root veggies, like potatoes, carrots, parsnips - even broccoli or cauliflower would go beautifully.
I add broccoli to just about everything...



Red Lentil Soup
Adapted from 101Cookbooks.com

1 1/3 cups red lentils
1/2 cup brown rice (short grain is perfect here)
3 shallots (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
1 (or 2 or 3) Red Bell Peppers
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
6 cups of water or vegetable broth (I use refrigerated veg base)

Toasted slice almonds (optional, but delicious as a topping)

Directions:
Sautee shallots, onions, crushed red pepper, and bell peppers in the olive oil for a few minutes. Then add the other ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for about an hour, or until rice is tender. Top with toasted almonds, pesto, anything else that sounds good...

Bree's Lentil-Tomato Soup

I don't know who Bree is, but apparently, she loves lentil soup, so she submitted a recipe to Cooking Light. As you may have noticed, I make lentil soup on a very regular basis. We love lentil soup in our house, and I have several (hundred) great recipes. I like to try new things, though, so this one caught my eye. It got rave reviews on the website, so I figured, how bad could it be? Well, this is a good, solid recipe. It's tasty, and sort of tangy, which I think comes from the turmeric. The blend of spices makes this taste like a very basic, good quality lentil soup. Kevin even mentioned that it tastes similar to the soups you find in a can. This may or may not be a compliment... I'm not too sure. Anyway, if you are a beginner at lentil soup, this is a winner. However, I have made so many lentil soups, and this one isn't as good as almost any of them. I give is a big fat "medium." Definitely tasty. Definitely warming and flavorful. The best? Nope. I probably won't make it again. I have too many other recipes I like better, but I would recommend it to others, because it is a solid, easy, kid friendly recipe, that takes very little prep time. Oh, and by the way, I added barley to this recipe, because it definitely needed some "chunk." It's really low calorie, too, so the addition of barley, makes this a nice wholesome meal.

My new basil plant! My Aunt Beth prompted me to try this... I have a few questions, though. Aunt Beth, I'm shooting you an email, so you can give me a tutorial!

Roasted broccoli: The perfect side dish.

We should make a club: Lentil Lovers of America.

In my family, nothing is better than a bowl of soup.


The Critique
Good soup, but not as good as the other lentil soups that Marji's made before. Had a slightly bitter aftertaste, but it had the typical flavor of a lentil soup. Liked it but didn't love it.

3 bowls

Chunky Red Dal Soup, a.k.a. "Doll Soup with Waffles"

First, a sweet story... Every day, Maya asks me what I'm making for dinner. I think she is hoping I'll say one of three things: potatoes, rice, or chicken (or all three). Yesterday, I told her I was making "Red Dal Soup," which she, of course, heard as, "Red DOLL Soup." She was very excited about eating doll soup, and we talked about it the whole way home from our trip to see friends, an hour away.

Anyway, this Chunky Red Dal Soup is a very easy, healthy, and versatile recipe. For those who don't know, dal refers to the thick stew prepared from "pulses," such as lentils, peas, or beans. It is regularly eaten with rice and vegetables in Southern India, and with both rice and roti (wheat-based flat bread) throughout Northern India & Pakistan. Dal is a ready source of proteins for a balanced diet containing little or no meat. I have countless different dal recipes, but I chose this one, because I had almost all the ingredients on hand.

I made brown basmati rice with this dish, because the soup sounded very spicy and smoky. It called for quite a bit of Spanish smoked paprika, Harissa, tomatoes, and cumin. Sounds like a recipe for heartburn, right? Actually, it wasn't really spicy at all! Instead, it had a nice tangy flavor, from the lemon, coupled with a mellow smokiness. It really tasted... Lovely. Yes, that's a good word for it. It had all these flavors that blended in a way that made you think, "Hmmmm, what is that?" I thought my family would only like this dish over rice, because it might not be filling enough. The problem is, basmati rice is very flavorful, so it almost overpowered the soup. I think this soup would be best served in its own bowl, with pita triangles or chips on the side.

By the way - Maya loved this "Doll Soup," and ate a ton of it. She even ate whole wheat pita with it - or, as she calls it, "Doll Soup with Waffles."

Harissa is a Tunisian hot chilli sauce commonly eaten in North Africa, whose main ingredients are piri piri hot chili peppers, serrano peppers,or other hot chillis and olive oil. When I bought this paste, at the Co-op, the cashier told me to be careful - it would be too hot to handle. Hmmmm. Apparently, he was either wrong, or I'm not very sensitive to hot pepps...



Doll Soup with Waffles (Red Dal on a pita!)

Red Lentil Stew

There are some dishes that look pretty disgusting, but taste divine. Given the choice, my food would always look beautiful - but there are some things that just cannot be! This dish didn't look pretty... at all. Fortunately, in my opinion, it tasted heavenly. I love red lentils, but don't make them all that often, because they are a tad more expensive than their green counterparts. Anyway, this red lentil stew was a flavorful puree of peppers, onions, lentils, and garlic, with a delicious kick of tomatoes and curry (it should have had a yogurt sauce, which I skipped, due to personal preference). I served this stew over wild rice pilaf (for Kevin) and roasted broccoli (for me), and I'm glad I did, because it was not a chunky stew, and lacked the texture I know Kevin and I like in a soup. The flavor was terrific, but next time, I think I will make some roasted carrots, onions, and cauliflower and server them under the soup, for a smokey, charred flavor, and some good chunk. I want to make this again soon - I have craved it ever since my last bite.

This soup stews with whole tomatoes, and is then pureed with an immersion blender.

Wild Rice Pilaf

Hmmmm... Lack of chunks.

So delicious over roasted broccoli.

Lentil Barley Burgers

I had decided we would have leftovers last night, but then, it just didn't happen. I got excited about this Lentil Barley Burger recipe from Cooking Light, and my idea of a leftover dinner just kind of faded away. I made some substitutions with this recipe - I used quinoa instead of barley, egg whites instead of eggs, and Pam instead of Canola oil. The process of creating these burgers was ridiculous. I had to cook quinoa and dry lentils, saute vegetables, let it sit in the fridge for an hour to set, etc. It took all afternoon. When I formed the patties, it was not looking good. They were super soft, and I just knew they would fall apart, as most homemade veggie burgers do. Surprise! They stayed together amazingly well, and they tasted very good. They definitely have an earthy, nutty flavor, and the texture is a perfect blend of chewy and soft, with an outer, crunchy layer. On the downside, I feel fairly sure that my substitutions downgraded the dish. If I had used barley, I think the flavor would have been a little nuttier, and if I had used a whole egg, as opposed to only the white, the patties may have been less gloppy once formed. Lastly, I think that omitting the canola oil took away from the crispy outer shell of the burger. Kevin mentioned that they tasted very... healthy. Even though I love the taste of "healthy," I definitely agreed with that assessment. By the way, the recipe is meant to be served with a fresh fruit salsa, which I didn't make. I did serve it with Newman's Own Pineapple salsa, though, and that was a perfect accompaniment to the dish.

Shredded carrots, chopped onions, and garlic.

Here are the formed patties, just before flattening.

Lentil Burgers on the stove top.

The finished product. I forgot to take a photo of them with the salsa, which would have been much more beautiful. I'm still getting used to taking pics of my cooking!
Oh no. We have so many leftovers. I even sent Kevin with leftovers for lunch today, because this is getting out of hand.


The Critique
I was very impressed with the consistency and texture of these burgers. Past veggie burgers have fallen apart and these were quite solid. The salsa really made them taste wonderful, too. I wasn't that much of a fan of the burgers on a bun, but they were still good. They definitely had a "this is healthy" taste to them, which isn't always so easy to describe. It was a tad bland and earthy tasting and I would like to try them again with either barley, bulgar, or brown rice instead of the quinoa. 4 bowls.

Lentil Loaf with Grilled Onion and Potatoes

I love the idea of Meatless Mondays, even though we have many meatless days around these parts. This week, I decided to make this lentil loaf, from My Vegan Cookbook. I've made it before, but, frankly, it's a lot of work. The recipe has a lot of ingredients, and the first (and only other time) I made it, I made several mistakes, which led to sort of an odd tasting, oddly textured loaf. This time, on the other hand, I did it right. It was delicious, and it actually stayed together, which is saying a lot for a vegetarian loaf. The thing I like about this one, is that the "glue," is actually tofu, not eggs. It's incredibly healthy and has a perfect blend of spices. The topping is a sweet and spicy tomato mixture, and there is leftover to use as a dipping sauce. I recently bought a new grill pan, so I decided to use it to make these grilled potatoes with vidalia onions. They came out good, but I needed to finish them off in the oven, since they didn't cook quite quickly enough. All in all, a very tasty, meatless meal!

There were about 10 more ingredients... These were just the pantry ones..."


Tasty lentil loaf.
Maybe not so pretty, but tastes good nonetheless.

Who knew you could grill onions and taters right on the stovetop?

My daughter loved these.


The critique
I loved it. This is my second time eating this and she greatly improved from the first time. It was much more solidly put together, and had the most amazing taste to it. Also, the tomato paste had less of the "makes your face pucker" issue, which can sometimes detract from the experience. I loved the food, but it's extremely unfilling, which is an issue with vegetarian food for me. I literally ate the entire loaf. 4 bowls.


The vegetables were phenomenal. I'm in love with the roasted onions thang. Bring it! 4 bowls.