Green lentils.. have got to grips with red ones, now tell me about green!

[simperingbint]

OOh will watch with interest. Can I put a slight hijack in and ask about yellow ones too (e.g. soaking requirements, soaking times and recipes).

of course !

if you mean puy lentis then here is BecauseI'mWorthIt's great recipe

• cook lentils according to packet instructions

-f ry up some chopped smokey streaky bacon, maybe a little chili, some finely chopped onion or shallot, maybe some finely chopped carrot

• in olive oil
• with some nice herbage eg thyme
• drain and throw in the lentils and give a good stir
• add balsamic vinegar and olive oil and salt and pepper
• yum yum yom

Bit windy next day but worth it

you can buy ready cooked and frozen lentils in tesco, takes the guesswork out of quantities

No replies yet. Seems everyone else is as terrified of them as we are. MN = lentil weavers? It would seem not!

Oooh I was wrong.

I used them in a pasta the other night. Soaked them for half an hour in cold water then changed the water and boiled them until tender. Added them to tomato and veg pasta sauce when it was done. It was lovely, they keep their shape really well and taste delicious.

I've posted a green lentil recipe here before.

Green lentils are great in shepherds pie/bolognese/chilli/moussaka to replace all or part of the mince. Also you can cook them v simply with tomato/onion/garlic etc for a plain accompaniment to meat.

If you cook your green lentils first (I use the tiny green ones from Sainsers, they take about 40 minutes), you then need to fry a sliced onion or two and some garlic, add a chopped carrot and a chopped celery stick, let it sweat for a while. Then add onions, glass of wine (red or white), tin of tomatoes or a few fresh chopped ones, stock/water and simmer until the veg is soft. Really nice with lamb chops or roast lamb or meatballs and pasta.

Re yellow lentils, do you mean split peas or something like chana dal?

yum yum ! thank you

i meant regular green lentils,but that sounds great

thank you x

green rather than puy lentils

i have made dahl with red lentils and it was great

Yellow lentils also make lovely dal. Chana dal is the best but moong dal or toor dal or just yellow split peas are all fine.

do you have recipes for those?
i was going to make chickpea curry ,but not got round to it yet

Agree with Horton about using green lentils to replace mince in chilli - I did this the other week and it was yum

do you cook the green lentils first or jsut lob then in with the mince>

Great as a filling for lassagne too.

Or fry onion, carrot, tomato, peppers, cook lentils according to packet, add some garam masala to make it slightly spicy... mmmm

This is yummy....

Chop a small amount (60g or so) of chorizo. Fry in pan with 5 chopped spring onions and 1 clove garlic, chopped. Add some chargrilled pepper (from a jar), a tin of green lentils (drained and rinsed), some chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice and season. Just warm through and then serve.

Nice with a piece of white fish or salmon.

Green lentils and rice with dill
Green lentil and onion salad, seasoned with fresh dill and lemon juice
Egyptian style green lentils, cooked with cumin and coriander, flavoured with tahini and lemon.

I did it really simply - fry chopped onion and garlic in oil, then add spices, then add a handful of rinsed green lentils, stir and cook for a few mins. Then add tinned tomatoes (and bit of water) and simmer for 40 mins-ish until lentils are cooked and sauce is right consistency. I add cannellini beans or kidney beans later on and you could put more veg in at the start too.