Hit me with your best lentil recipes!

[IAmTheOneWhoKnocks]

I am pregnant and all I can think about is lentils
I am a lentil novice though and not really sure where to start with them, so does anyone have any good recipes for them? The healthier the better as DP is dieting and we're struggling to eat the same meals. Cheers :)

Veggie Spag bol.
Fry some onions and a bit of garlic, add a tin of tomatoes and a bay leaf and some herbs, then the lentils (I get jar of precooked ones) then take out the bay leaf, whiz it all up and add some parmesan. It is delicious with spaghetti.

Veggie lentil curry.
Fry some onions, add a bit of garlic, add some curry sauce (pateks is the best) then whatever vegetables you fancy, for me usually it is aubergines and courgettes, add the lentils. Simmer. Whiz up a bit but not totally, then add peas. Delicious with pilau rice.

I love lentils! Congratulations on your pregnancy.

Mmm the thought of the curry has got me drooling, will definitely give that a go. Thanks!

Dhal (or dal) is what you need! Absolutely delicious, incredibly comforting. There are about a billion recipes online, though my favourites come from the entertainingly titled "Indian Housewife's Cookbook" (!).

Lentils are a pretty healthy thing to be craving!

Ottolenghi's khosheri recipe is fantastic. Rice, noodles, onions, lentils in spicy butter and a spicy tomato sauce. Delicious and cheap.

www.slowcookerqueen.com/slow-cooker-coconut-tomato-and-lentil-dahl/

I'm
Making this today! It's yummy!!

Lentil & leek lasagne:

Chop & soften 2 leeks in oil
Meanwhile boil some put lentil as per packet instructions 20 mins ish-strain & reserve some cooking liquid
Add garlic to the leeks, cook, add sliced mushrooms, cook. Then add cooked lentils & some passata. Season and mix. Add some of reserved liquid to get the consistency you want.

Then use this mix as you would fir any lasagne. Layer up with lasagne sheets & cheese sauce.

Cook on oven, 30 mins ish
We eat this loads & usually make 2 - 1 for the freezer

I LOVE lentils - here's my fav fast day meal that has just become a firm favourite:

Boil puy lentils in veg stock (I just use boulloin powder) until cooked should have some bite to them still

Slice courgettes, toss in some olive oil then griddle til cooked

Mix lentils and courgettes together along with mint and feta cheese

Gobble

Sweet Potato, Spinach & Lentil Dhal (taken from the Good Food website but no longer on there)

Serves 4

• 200g red lentils
• 900ml veg stock
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, drained
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into small cubes
• handful of young leaf spinach

1. Put all the ingredients in a large pan except for the sweet potato and spinach. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 mins.
2. Add the sweet potato and cook for 15 mins or until tender. Stir in the spinach and cook for a minute until wilted.
3. Serve with some naan bread!

Ginger and sweet potato soup

150g split red lentils
600-700g sweet potatoes chopped finely
1 onion chopped finely
1 garlic clove chopped finely
1 carrot peeled and chopped finely
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp fennel seeds crushed
650ml veg stock

If you have a food processor, blitz the veg first.

Bung all in slow cooker for 6-8 hours on low, then blend. Add more stock/fluid if desired.

My own invention - red thai lentil soup. I have never known the exact amounts for this recipe - I just bung in what looks like enough, and hope for the best.

Soften diced onion and carrot in a bit of oil. Add red thai curry paste, and fry off the spices, then add the lentils and stock. Simmer until the lentils are cooked, adding more stock if necessary (but you want the end result to be fairly thick). Add a can of coconut milk, and blitz in the food processor.

My mum's recipe - that the one above is based on - for lentil and bacon soup. Soften chopped bacon and diced onion and carrot in a bit of oil. Add the lentils and stock, cook until soft, then blitz.

Tarka Dhal, just made it for the first time yesterday and it is delicious, quite spicy, you may try to do it without the chillies. We also like a green lentils cooked with a lot of peppers, onion, carrots, celery....

black eye beans shepherds pie, not strictly lentils but still delicious.

i fry onions garlic, probably bacon, cook red lentils in water, when cooked add to onions mixture, and a cube of frozen spinach. may be a bit of tom puree, tea spoon of garam masala, serve with rice.
very nice

Ooh thank you! I shall be going lentil crazy over the next couple of weeks :)

Brown lentils make a great shepherds pie.
Sauté chopped onion and carrots, add tin of tomatoes, a cup of water, stock cube / marmite / soy / Worcester sauce to get a deep flavour base, season, add cooked brown or green lentils, cook for a bit until it's looking good, place in oven dish, top with mash and grated cheese then cook in oven for 20 - 30 mins. Serve with a green veg. Very good and warming.

Big feature on lentil recipes here in the Guardian today, coincidentally.

I live on lentil stew, just lentils generous amounts of whatever veg I have to hand and pastsa sauce, I especially like it with cheese on toast

Puy lentils simmered (no pre-soaking needed) with a few whole cloves of garlic (peeled) for about 40mins, drained and then coated in a bit of olive oil & herbes de Provence (I mean just add to the pan and mix through a bit) make an excellent accompaniment to pork, esp gammon, with roasties and carrots.

Or Google a tarka daal recipe.

And actually, bit of a faff, but the best soup ever is Madhur Jaffrey's chicken mulligatawny made with red lentils.

Loving these lentil ideas/ recipes ..will try them

I craved lentils when pregnant too, I made vats full of this Nigel Slater recipe and just ate it four times a day. It is so delicious. I didn't even bother with the sausages most of the time either. I never added parsley or celery, but doubled the carrot and put loads and loads of black pepper in.

2 tbsp olive oil
120g streaky bacon, diced
1 onion
1 large carrot
a rib of celery
300g green lentils
1 litre chicken stock
2 bay leaves
8 plump pork sausages
chopped parsley

Warm the oil in a deep, heavy casserole. Put the bacon in and let it cook over a medium heat so it colours lightly. Meanwhile, peel the onion, chop it finely and add to the bacon. Cut the carrot and celery into rough dice, and stir them in, letting them soften a little. Don't let them colour. Tip in the lentils, pour in the chicken stock, then tuck in the bay leaves and sausages, cut into short lengths if you prefer, and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat so the liquid simmers gently, season, then leave it for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time. Check the seasoning (I like it peppery), and stir in a handful of chopped parsley.

Another good recipe is the puy lentil lasagne on the bbc website.

I know they dont need to be soaked but I like to do it anyway (just for a few hours) because it reduces cooking time and possibly gets rid of some of the flatulence-ogenic aspects

Ooh this is a great thread. Mostly posting to mark my place but here is a yummy vegetarian moussaka with lentils I tried out last week. I swapped the red pepper for a courgette because I find cooked peppers in stuff disagreeable. It was delicious.

Spicy Red Lentil Soup:

Cook some red lentils with garlic and chillies
Maybe a splash of yogurt or cream on top

German Green Lentils:

Fry some smoked German sausage with garlic
Chuck in some cooked green lentils
Splash of vinegar.

Almost anything you make with mince can be bulked out with red lentils (shepherds pie, lasange etc)

OP does is have to be lentils particularly? Or would you consider other pulses?