Tag Archive: Lentils

Healthy Pumpkin Lentil Soup

Yogurt and Lentils

This summer I spent very little time cooking and baking. For me Fall squashes and pumpkin spice make much more exciting recipes. When Stonyfield asked their Clean Plate Club bloggers to make a recipe using Bob’s Red Mill‘s lentils, I knew I wanted it to use pumpkin, too. 

I eat beans pretty much every day and it’s almost always the kind from a can. As much as I’d prefer cooking my own, it can take a long time and yield way too much beans for one person. These red lentils were perfect because they only took 15 minutes and you don’t have to cook the whole bag all at once.

I liked this soup a little chunky so I didn’t blend up the lentils. For a thick and creamy soup, you could continue blending until smooth. If you want to turn it into more of a meal than a side add a cup and a half of cooked quinoa at the end.

Healthy Pumpkin Lentil Soup

Healthy Pumpkin Lentil Soup

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 5-6 servings):

  • 1 cup uncooked Bob’s Red Mill red lentils
  • 2 cups vegetarian broth
  • 1 can pumpkin purée
  • 1/2 cup Stonyfield lowfat plain yogurt
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Method:

  1. Cook the Bob’s Red Mill red lentils according to directions on the package.
  2. In a food processor or blender, combine the rest of the ingredients and blend until emulsified.
  3. Add in the cooked lentils and pulse gently until fully mixed. For a smooth soup, continue blending until fully puréed.
  4. Pour the soup into a large pot and heat on top of the stove.
  5. Season with extra salt and pepper to taste. Finish with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt.

Hipsterfood’s Easy Lentil Soup

Hipsterfood’s Easy Lentil Soup

I always imagine soup as being one of those long, time-consuming foods to make. It definitely can be, but now I know it doesn’t have to be. I found this recipe on the blog, hipsterfood, and thought it looked too easy not to try. I’m also a sucker for anything with lentils in it.

Hipsterfood’s Easy Lentil Soup Yield

One thing that they don’t mention in the actual recipe is that you need a lot of water. I’d estimate that I added about 4 cups of water through the whole process and mine still came out thicker than the batch on their blog. I also left out the celery and added whatever herbs/spices I had on hand. A little paprika gave a nice smoky flavor to it all.

Hipsterfood’s Easy Lentil Soup Croutons

At the end I made “croutons” by chopping up some gluten-free bread, frying it in a little olive oil and seasoning them. Now I know I’ll never have to buy croutons again. It’s also terrific with melted cheese or sour cream on top.

What’s your favorite soup recipes? I’d love ideas for more to make.

Maple-Sriracha Lentils

maple-siracha-lentils

Hi, again. I’m back after a short posting hiatus. I figured I needed to post something if only so that my parents don’t think I died. I’ve done plenty of writing over the past few days, but not about food; it’s mostly been commentaries on ancient elegiac and epic poetry, and I figured no one wants to read that(I don’t even really want to read that). And cooking? Oh, cooking. Well, there’s plenty of time for that now.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I really don’t like sriracha sauce—at least not on its own. It’s far too spicy for me; even just thinking about pouring large amounts of it over food makes jump back. I do, however, love the flavor it adds to sauces with a little sweetness to balance the heat. I’ve made this sauce with maple syrup and soy sauce a few times lately and poured it over everything: Lentils, quinoa, eggs—there’s no bad combination.

maple-siracha-lentils-vertical

If you’re a sriracha fan, I’m sure you’ll love this. Even if you’re not a sriracha fan, give it a shot and you might just be surprised how much you like it.

Maple-Sriracha Lentils

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

  • 1 cup dry lentils
  • 3 cups water
  • 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
  • 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons sriracha sauce

maple-siracha-lentils-fork

Method:

  1. Cook the lentils for 30-40 minutes in the boiling water until they’ve become tender and soaked up all the liquid.
  2. Turn off the heat and add in the soy sauce, maple syrup, and sriracha and mix, letting the lentils sit over the burner for a couple minutes to absorb the sauce.
  3. Serve hot or cold as leftovers.

maple-siracha-lentils-bowl

The sriracha adds a great complexity to a sauce that’s only 3 ingredients. For a little more depth of flavor you can add a Tablespoon of toasted sesame oil at the end of cooking.

And now I have 6 weeks with not much to do and a full kitchen at my exposal so expect to hear a lot more from me.

Lentils With Potatoes And Caramelized Onions

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Comfort food rarely looks appealing, and yet there’s nothing we want more. It’s warm, thick, and often rich with flavor; who cares what it looks like? This has been my favorite comfort food lately. It’s not really a stew because there’s no liquid. Instead, it’s a thick, creamy bowl of flavorful carbs. And that is the most comforting thing in my eyes.

Lentils With Potatoes And Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dry lentils
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3-4 starchy potatoes, diced and cooked
  • 1 onion, julienned
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for finishing

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Start by cooking your lentils to completion with the bay leaf, salt, and pepper. When the lentils are done cooking, remove the bay leaf and discard.

Meanwhile, caramelize onions in a large frying pan with the olive oil. Once the onions are loose and translucent, add in the potatoes as if you were making a hash and cook for 10-15 minutes until they start forming a crust.

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Add the onions and potatoes in with the lentils and mix the contents together well. Don’t worry if the lentils start mashing and the potatoes break apart; that just means the flavor will blend together more. Serve hot and drizzle with good extra virgin olive oil(the kind Ina’s always pushing).

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I didn’t promise a pretty bowl, but I will promise that you can’t eat this without smiling. It’s thick and hearty and can please the cravings of a meat and potato lover. I like to eat this with ketchup, which is weird because I don’t normally put ketchup on anything. I’d also suggest eating this on the couch watching trashy TV wearing old sweat pants, because it’s that kind of comfort food.