lentils

[Bob]

i've been doing some reading about lentils and they sound like a pretty ideal thing for living healthy and not spending a lot of money at the same time. they're full of protein and fiber and apparently if you combine them with brown rice it becomes a "perfect dish" which i think is a george clooney movie or something

anyway i want to start eating them but i don't know what to do with them, exactly. what are easy things to do with lentils? keep in mind that the level of my cooking knowledge is such that i don't know exactly what "simmer" means

[Yetra Flam]

isn't simmer where it's not quite at a boil, or it's just past a boil and the boil has died down and it's just like, simmering. I DON'T KNOW BOB.

[Bob]

i always assumed it was low heat on the stove, like 2 out of 10. are you saying it's more like 4 or 5 out of 10? have i been simmering this whole time and not realizing it???

anyway you're not talking about lentils! this thread is about lentils! i thought i made that pretty obvious with the title!

[Yetra Flam]

sorry i don't know anything.

i can cook devilled eggs!

that's about it :(

[silence7]

The first time I had lentils was about two weeks ago, and I only had a spoonful... They weren't bad.

My only previous experience with lentils, was watching The Young Ones, Neil was always cooking them, so I figured they must taste bad, and are only good for poor hippies.


Lentil Rice and Cheese burritos drain and squish the lentils.
Lentil tacos

Lentils in the mornin' lentils in the evening, when lentils on a bagel, you can have lentils any time!!!

[AceFace]

i think they're disgusting.

[Bob]

My only previous experience with lentils, was watching The Young Ones, Neil was always cooking them, so I figured they must taste bad, and are only good for poor hippies.


haha that's my experience too. but i had a can of progresso lentil soup which wasn't too bad, and apparently they're really amazingly healthy and cheap so i figure i'll start eating them

[faz]

Lentil soup?

[taquitos]

we have a lentil soup at the restaurant where i work.

its one of out most popular soups, and i quite like it myself. i could get you the recipe.

[Bob]

we have a lentil soup at the restaurant where i work.

its one of out most popular soups, and i quite like it myself. i could get you the recipe.

yeah, that'd be good, thanks. i was looking up lentil soup/stew recipes online; there's so many of them, but some seem pretty basic. more is better!

[hitmonlee]

ok despite the fact you could have easily looked up what "simmer" means basically it is yeah, just below boiling. the water will have tiny bubbles coming to the surface but won't be rolling around like boiling water. if its a stew, then you may see a few bubbles pop up occasionally.

lentils are the rankest of rank foods. grainy shit. stupid hippies.

[Bob]

ok despite the fact you could have easily looked up what "simmer" means basically it is yeah, just below boiling. the water will have tiny bubbles coming to the surface but won't be rolling around like boiling water. if its a stew, then you may see a few bubbles pop up occasionally.


lol thank you for answering my question in a not at all condescending way, i appreciate you not going out of your way to be a dick about it

[na§tee]

soup is where it's at with lentils. plus you can make a large amount and it'll do you for several days. i actually really like lentils. they get a bad rep, but they are tasty. being scottish i have had lentil soup and scotch broth shoved down my throat since birth though - so may be a wee bit biased.

how about lentil burgers? they keep for a long time and are good hot or cold. i normally have them with raita/some other natural yoghurt-based sauce and a pitta bread, mmm. they sound difficult to make, but they're not.. give it a bash! experiment bob, go on! :) don't write your skills off straight away!

[MC Moot]

My sis is the only person I know who can make them palatable...and usually in soup...sometimes she does this cous cous/lentil cold salad thing which until about the 3rd bite is pretty good...then I'm like....uh lentils...and I've had them at a Ethiopian restaurant where they were passable...I think it was this:

Ethiopian Spicy Tomato Lentil Stew

My first foray into Ethiopian cooking was magical but this dish was the big hit. I usually frind my own spices for this but this is a quicker version. Serve with rice, polenta or injera bread.

Equipment:
Large heavey soup pot
Another pot with lid for boiling the lentils

Ingredients
1 cup brown lentils
1 large yellow onion, diced small
2 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, miced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup peanut oil (vegetable oil will do)
10 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup vegetable stock or 1 cup water + 2 veg boullion cubes
1 cup frozen green peas

Spice Blend:
2 tsp ground cumin
2 teaspoons hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground cardomom
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

Directions
Boil the lentils for about 45 minutes or until tender.

In a large pot, over med heat saute the onions and carrots for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and spice blend. Saute 5 more minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, cook 5 more minutes. Add tomato paste and mix, then add the water. Simmer Until bubbling. Add the cooked lentils and green peas, simmer 15 more minutes.

[hitmonlee]

lol thank you for answering my question in a not at all condescending way, i appreciate you not going out of your way to be a dick about it

why is my sarcasm radar pinging?

[Bob]

i finally got around to making a lentil soup today and i found it really delicious, i could see eating this on a regular basis. it's easy to make too. it takes a long time, but that's only because you have to simmer it for an hour, it's easy enough to just read a book in between stirring or something. i'm thinking if i play around with the spices i can make it even better. i'm toying with the idea of throwing a jalapeno pepper in there and seeing how that tastes. i bet it would taste good spicy.

[ms.peachy]

Bob if you are not a vegetarian, ham is a good combo with lentil soup. You don't need much of it - think of it as more of a seasoning than an ingredient. At the deli counter at my supermarket, they will sell the end cuts of cold cuts (the bits that are too small to put on the slicer anymore) inexpensively and I often just get one of those and then chuck it in whole while the soup cooks, then just take it out and discard at the end. Alternately, you can dice it and have bits of ham in the soup itself, if you prefer.


And yes, spicy is good.

[jabumbo]

peachy really is about putting ham in the soup (y)


but bob, i don't know if your body would be able to stand the amazingness of lentil soup with jalepenos. you might want to start slow and just add some bell peppers first, with maybe a splash of hot sauce and work your way up.

[synch]

Lentils are a traditional Italian new years eve dish.

Consumed with a huge amount of pork they symbolise cash in the new year.

Or maybe the pork symbolizes money.

[Bob]

peachy really is about putting ham in the soup (y)


but bob, i don't know if your body would be able to stand the amazingness of lentil soup with jalepenos. you might want to start slow and just add some bell peppers first, with maybe a splash of hot sauce and work your way up.

what if i start with cutting most/all of the seeds out first?

[jabumbo]

you could be a professional chef, bob!