Red lentils... HELP!

[WanderlyWagonInWales]

Long time member here's (cutted up pear, penis beaker etc) seeking some guidance. Due to “Rona“ sticking around and making a nuisance of herself globally, our finances have been somewhat diminished of late. I make a mean bolognese (if i do say so myself) but was told by several people that you can make the meal go further by bulking it up using lentils.
I’ve never used them before, have no clue how much I should use, or even if I just bung ‘em in the pot or have to do something with the first... Please oh wise and wondrous ones, teach me your ways!!!

I stick red lentils in Bol, I don’t measure, I just stick a load in after rinsing in a sieve. Do make sure to add extra water or passata though as they soak up a lot of water. I tend to let my Bol simmer for ages for extra flavour but I think the pack says the lentils are cooked after 20 mins.

I usually do a couple of heaped tablespoons. They soak the liquid up so add them as soon as you've got the sauce going and simmer for 20 mins adding more liquid if you need to. I can make a 500g packet of mince make enough meals for three nights by adding lentils (two adults two primary aged dc).

Red are better for soups and green better for meals I find but a few handfuls will do you nicely I love a lentil bol, chilli, Dahl etc. and eat them all the time, we try to only eat meat a couple of times a week now and hardly miss it.

On this lentilly theme, what can i use brown lentils for? I tried soup and it tasted ok but looked rather unappetizing

Other things you can add to bolognaise sauce to stretch it a bit are, a couple of spoons of pudding rice, grated carrot, a good sprinkle of porridge oats.
If making a moussaka with meat sauce put a layer or two of cooked sliced potatoes at the bottom of the dish, and serve with rice instead of salad for a more filling meal.

Greated carrot & courgette and a handful of lentils bulks out a Bolognese and sneaks in ninja veggies to fool the kids too.

I’m very lucky that my 3 bottomless pits (boys) love mostly all veg so stealth ninja moves aren’t needed 😃 I will deffo add some grated courgette (already use carrot) as hadn’t thought of that! When this bag of red is finished I will get some green ones for future meal prep. Thanks so much for your help ladies 😘😘

@dementedma

I like brown or green lentils cooked then served at room temperature in a salad.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lentil-tomato-salad

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/warm-roasted-squash-and-puy-lentil-salad

i made a cottage pie with lentils and no mince the other day...I had cooked some to go in some leftover butter chicken...it was very saucy and I thought they would bulk it up nicely which they did

however I did faaaaaar too many and had plenty left over and they were so tasty I put some extra cheesey mash on top and it was really delicious.

they were the bigger ones though...green or brown, i cannot remember!

Curry and red lentil soup is very lovely.

I prefer green lentils in things like bolagnaise. Red ones are supposed to be nice in soup, to me they have a distinctive taste that reminds me of hotdogs and I'm not keen.

Be careful with tomato sauces ans lentils can seize (ie stay hard) in these sauces. I tend to cook in water first then add.

I make a veg chili/ratatouille hybrid with red lentils. You can also make a 'soupier' version if you add an extra tin of tomatoes and have it with crusty bread.

Green lentils are perfect for chilli and cottage pie etc, as green lentils keep their texture and form. Red lentils break down and go gloopy which is why they are good in soups. I buy green lentils in tins but dried are fine, just cook them for longer or even better, invest in an instant pot (pressure cooker) and everything you cook will taste like its been gently simmering all day instead of cooked in 20 mins, bloody love mine!

Can you 'tell' if lentils are in the Bolognese? Will my fussy DC notice??

@HotCrossBungle if you aren't veggie, use a beef stock pot in with green lentils and I doubt they will notice. Green lentils, especially tinned ones keep their texture and it feels very like mince in your mouth

I use red lentils to thicken to thicken tomato sauces. they sort if melt into it.
if you use too much salt then they tend to stay harder, so I add salt/stock cube at a later stage of cooking.

This is the finished product just before it went into the oven to brown off the cheese on top. I always taste as I go when cooking and so far I love it - the real test will be DH and the 3 lads. Wish me luck!!

Thanks spuds

Ahh now I’ve just found red lentils in the back of my pantry, from 2017. Was hoping to use them in a slow cooked Bol.

Now I’m usually fairly meh about use by dates and dry goods, but 2017? What do you think?

No chance of getting any more as local shops’ dry goods are decimated!

They'll be absolutely fine.

totally fine

2017 red lentils will be fine assuming your pantry is dry and wholesome. It’ll be a BBE not a Use By surely.

Yep BBE not UB! Thought so, thanks all. They’re going in.

I bought them for ham and red lentil soup that I didn’t get round to making and I can’t believe where the time has gone.