I'd like to use mroe lentils - which ones and how?

[TracyK]

I don't want them too obv. and crunchy - but not too smooth - ie blended.

I tried to add them to my tomato sauce last week and it all blended too smooth. So my lasagne that I made from it with no meat was really flat!or the part I didn't blend - too rough - so made that into spanish soup which was nice - but ds wouldn't eat!

sarah brown's lentil loaf-lovely
i tend to undercook s;llightly - they are nicer a bit crunchy i agree

Green or brown lentils with sausages/frankfurters (or for adults/older kids - with chorizo and or spanish black pudding (morcilla)

I dont usually measure amounts-one onion, two large carrots, lots of lentils, couple of potatoes. Feeds 4

Fry onions, garlic and carrots together with a little cumin, add lentils and enough water or stock to cover plus chopped up pieces of raw potato and a bay leaf and tble spoon of tomato puree. Add sliced sausages and and bring to boil then simmer for about 40 mins-adding water or stock if it gets sticky. Add some salt, pepper, soy, (chilli for older kids/grown ups).Serve with crusty bread. Nice and warming, one pot meal.

a really simple recipe for green brown or puy lentils:
Chop an onion finely and cook it to golden in a little butter.
Add the lentils (1 cup for 2 people) , and give it all a good stir.
Add a good amount of water (say 3-4 times as much volume as the lentils) and leave to simmer until the lentils are cooked (about half an hour, depending on how soft you like them).
When the lentils are more or less done, put some salmon fillets in on top and simmer for 5 minutes or so, until the fish is cooked. The recipe works just as well with frankfurters of bits of fried bacon).

Serve with boiled potatoes, butter and plenty of black pepper.

I had some of this left over, (all the fish had gone!), so I made lentil soup, by adding a tin of chopped tomatoes and a small amount of water, and then some chopped herbs at the end , and plenty of lemon juice.

So - green or brown lentils - do you get them dried just like the orange ones I normally get?

yes, I always buy dried lentils.

I also get the orange lentils sometimes and cook them for ages until they're totally mush and mix them with a normal curry. You can't really tell you're eating lentils, but it is delicious.

mung beans are delicious.

I don't really ever use lentils the way you describe, just eat them on their own. Do you like dhal?

Urid beans also very very delicious, whole or split

You can get massive sacks in indian shops for very cheap.

Do you have a slow cooker? I make a gorgeous lamb and puy lentil stew - some chunks of browned lamb, about 200g puy lentils, finely chopped onion and garlic, some tomato puree and some lamb stock - cooked on 'slow' for about 8 hours. It is divine!

Chuck a tin of brown or green entils in with a chicken curry or a bolognese type sauce.
Often use them or red lentils to stretch out the meat in casserole type dishes

I absolutely love lentils - they've helped me lose weight because they're so filling.

This tomato and lentil soup is absolutely delicious. I use 400g of passata instead of tinned tomatoes and 1tsp of crushed chillis instead of a whole dried one.

As batteryhuman says, the brown or green ones are lovely in bolognese. Also in shepherd's pie/lasagne.

I also cook this sausage and lentil recipe a lot.