Lately I’ve been on a bit of a lentil craze. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I discovered 3 different (relatively full), opened bags of lentils in my cupboard… nooo. Truth is, I hate clutter. Even food cupboard clutter. Actually, especially food cupboard clutter. Although I will acknowledge having too many lentils is far from being a problem.
Orrrr, can it be…
“Darling, for dinner tonight you have a choice! Red, yellow, or brown…….. lentils.”
But in all seriousness, here’s a mini list of why YOU need to be eating more of this legume:
- Lowers cholesterol
- Good for digestion (+high source of fibre).
- High source of protein & iron
- Increases your energy
- Helps with weight loss
- Lowers your risk of heart disease (+high source of magnesium which improves blood flow)
- Helps stabilize blood sugar
- Contains all kinds of vitamins; including Vitamin B (+highest amount compared to any other plant based food).
So whether you’re a vegetarian, vegan, or a hardcore meat eater- you really can’t deny this food from your diet. Lentil UP!
(Serves 6)
Ingredients for bottom layer of lentils:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1/2 cup of lentils (uncooked)
- 2 cups of water (or however much water your lentils require for half a cup)
- splash of red wine
- ~1 tsp butter
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp of cumin
- 1/2 tsp of curry
- dash of nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients for middle layer:
- 2 cups of canned corn
Ingredients for top layer of mashed potato:
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 2 medium yukon potato
- 2 Tbsp of butter (or more at your discretion)
- 1/4 of warm milk
- 2 tsp canadian maple syrup
- dash of cinnamon
- several dashes of paprika
- (optional: sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top)
Directions:
- In large pot, start boiling water, then cook your potatoes until soft (~25 minutes).
- In medium pot, dice onion and add to warm pot with olive oil.
- Cook onions for 10 minutes. If sticking to bottom, add wine and butter.
- Add lentils to onion mixture. Stir for 1 minute.
- Add water (measure according to your lentil package), and bring to boil.
- Once boiling, turn down to a simmer/low temperature.
- Once water is almost all gone but not quite (~20 minutes), add remaining ingredients (tomato paste, curry, cumin, salt, pepper, butter). Stir. Water should be gone within a few minutes. Set aside.
- Drain potatoes. Remove skin. Place back in the same pot on simmer, and add remaining ingredients to complete mash. (warm milk, butter, cinnamon, paprika, maple syrup, salt, and pepper).
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray glass baking dish. Pour lentils in first, then corn, and finish with your mash. Sprinkle more paprika, salt, pepper, and a handful of cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 mins.
Music:
I randomly found this song a few weeks ago and it took me back to my first years in College. A little indie-rock addition to this weeks music library. And guess what? This band is from Montreal! Wooh!
Here’s ‘Electric’, by Caféine. (Xavier Caféine)
JulieC
