R is for…Red Lentils!
I hope everyone’s still enjoying the A-Z series. We’re coming to the end of Vegan MoFo now. Sob but you’ve probably realized that I’m not going to get to the end of the alphabet by Sunday…I’ve been posting every weekday which will only take me to T by Friday. I’m having a lot of fun with it though, so, if you don’t mind, I’m going to keep going through to Z (though I might skip X unless anyone has any ideas for me!). I’ll try and post over the weekend and wrap up by the middle of next week but that might not be possible.
Back to the topic of the day…red lentils!
Red lentils are a little different to their green, brown and black friends in that they don’t hold their shape at all when cooked. This lends them well to curries, stews, soups and similar dishes where they work to thicken up and add body to whatever it may be. The only red lentil recipe I’ve got up on the blog so far is my Sweet Potato, Spinach & Coconut Dahl but I’m sure that will soon change with the arrival of the colder weather when I start to crave those comforting dishes mentioned.
I’ve been sitting on this recipe for far too long and it’s something I’ve made numerous variations of over time. A flavourful, fragrant Moroccan tagine with root vegetables and red lentils.
I mix up the vegetables every time I make it, this time I was delighted to be able to use both the squash and courgettes from my garden. I recommend a combination of hard, root veg and something green like courgettes or green beans. But it really is up to you.
It’s just occurred to me that this is another sweet and savoury dish, like yesterday’s recipe, so I hope there aren’t too many haters out there!
Tagine has to have fruit in it though. The sweet dried fruits are lovely with the spices and make this dish that bit more special. Just like the vegetables, you can also use whatever dried fruits you have to hand. This time I used a combination of dried apricots and dried figs but have used both prunes and golden raisins in the past with good results.
Red Lentil & Root Vegetable Tagine:
Get creative with this dish and use whatever vegetables and dried fruits sound good to you.
1/2T Oil
1 Medium onion, diced
1 Large clove of garlic, minced
1” pc ginger, minced
1/2T Cinnamon
1t Cumin
1t Ground coriander
1-2t Harissa (optional if you like a bit of heat- or try 1/2t Chili Flakes)
1/2t Salt
1/3C Red lentils
1 1/2C Vegetable broth
1 x 400g/14oz Can of chopped tomatoes
1 1/2C Cubed squash (I prefer large chunks)
1 Large carrot, chopped into large chunks
2 Medium courgettes, chopped into large chunks
1/2C Dried fruit (I used a mixture of unsulphured dried apricots and dried figs)
1T Lemon juice
Chopped fresh parsley to serve
This needs to simmer for approximately one hour. You can either do this on the stovetop or in the oven.
If using the latter method, preheat the oven to 180C and place a large casserole dish/tagine in the oven to warm up.
In a large pan, warm the oil over medium heat and add the onion. Cook for a few minutes until softened and add the garlic, ginger, spices and salt. Cook for a further minute for spices to toast. Add lentils, broth and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add hard vegetables like squash and carrots and stir to coat in sauce.
Transfer mixture to the warmed dish from the oven if using this method and add the dried fruit to the mix. Cover and return to the oven. Check on it every now and again and give it a stir to prevent sticking.
After about 45 minutes add softer vegetables like courgettes or green beans and return to oven again to finish cooking. Mine usually takes around 1 hour total. You want your vegetables to be cooked through and fairly soft, but not collapsing.
Remove from the oven and stir through lemon juice.
I served this with quinoa (of course!) topped with toasted, chopped almonds and plenty of parsley.
Serves 4
I didn’t do a link-love yesterday so you get extra today.
Red lentil recipes I like the look of:
Curry Cashew Red Lentil Burgers
Creamy Red Pepper Lentil Lasagna
Red Lentil, Lemon & Rosemary Orecchiette
Enough to keep you busy there?
Let me know your thoughts on the A-Z. If you’re getting bored of it please say so!
Yay for finishing the alphabet… although I don’t know I have any x suggestions. The best I can think of is xanthum gum and xylitol, neither of which I own. 😉
love the a-z theme - I too thought xanthum gum - not that I have used it myself - love red lentils - they are good in lentil soups - I think I have an embarrassing amount of soups with red lentils on my blog - perhaps a favourite is a sweet potato and red lentil soup which is so smooth and velvety when pureed
Hmmm, xanthan gum was the only thing which sprung to mind for me too but I don’t really consider it a food, more of a food additive so I think I’ll miss it…
You can never have too many red lentil soups in my opinion
This look lovely and packed full of flavour. I’ve really been enjoying your a-z posts.
Thanks Jemma. So pleased you’ve been enjoying the series. It looks as though I’m going to go through to Z!
This looks amazing and I love the Moroccan theme. I cook a lot with red lentils, so nutritious and delicious!
That’s the kind of food I like! Nutritious and delicious
xanthum gum and xylitol are two ingredients that i have come across but have to admit not used. So you may not miss out the letter x
Been enjoying your posts for vegan mofo
I thought of xanthan gum but hadn’t considered xylitol. I don’t think of either as real foods though so I still don’t have anything for X…Never mind.
So pleased you’ve been enjoying the MoFo series.
I love red lentils. One of my favorite quick at-home lunches is a pot of red lentils with whatever spice blend strikes my fancy. Add in diced tomatoes or chickpeas and things get super crazy!
And I like the A-Z theme!
All those people out there who think they don’t like lentils…:( They’re missing out!
I’ve been loving your vegan mofo theme and I definitely love this red lentil recipe. I’m a total sucker for red lentils! I can’t wait to cook up a batch of this goodness
Hope you make and enjoy the tagine! It’s such a cozy dish
So happy you’ve been enjoying my MoFo posts.
You continue come up with delightful surprises for your alphabetical Vegan MoFo. I love Moroccan tanginess, so I’ll have to give this one a try. I decided to look up X foods, and found a couple of links:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/268995-list-of-foods-that-start-with-x/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_some_foods_that_begin_with_the_letter_X
The second one is the better one. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do for X.
Ah, so much pressure now to come up with an X post…! Thanks for sharing the lists, although I’m still not sure there’s anything I can use.
The spices and sweetness are simply delicious aren’t they?
A fellow Moroccan food lover
I love red lentils! As you say, they’re so versatile and super cheap too. I buy huge bags from the World Food aisle at Tesco and soon get through them. At the moment, I’m loving making red lentil based soups - tomato & red lentil, curried red lentil - and dals. I never thought of putting them in tagines. Definitely must give that a try! I love the sound of all the recipes you’ve linked to. I can’t wait to check them out.
Definitely finish your alphabet challenge. We’re loving it 😀
I love beans and legumes of all varieties I think! I’m definitely going to finish the A-Z now since I’ve had such a good response. Still stumped for X though…
I love a good tagine, but I rarely make them. This looks really yummy.
Well you definitely need to change that!
Hi Emma fellow Vegan Mofo’er!
You can find me as “Candida Diet Plan” - would be great to connect.
The meals I’ve seen from you so far look totally scrumptious - I’m hoping you’ll open a restaurant at some point so I can sample some of them 😉
Have liked Coconut and Berries on Facebook
Take care,
Sandra
Hi Sandra, thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comment. Just read your story and it sounds so awful what you had to go through. Fantastic that you’re back to full health now and can help other sufferers.
I have been enjoying your A-Z series, it is one of the most clever VeganMoFo themes I’ve ever came across this year! Yay for Red Lentils, there was a jar of dried red lentils left by a previous tenant, and I used it to make Lentil Bolognese on Pasta with loads of dried chili peppers. It was okay, but I think I prefer fresh tomatoes over packaged tomato sauce. The Red Lentil & Root Vegetable Tagine is perfect for the season here in Buenos Aires, especially with lots of dried lentils & squash here.
Thank you
I love lentil bolognese. Great, easy meal.
Is it still very chilly in Buenos Aires?
My mum and I are going to make this for our family Christmas party on Saturday. Because of me we always have to bring the veggie option! We usually make a veggie curry but I think my meat loving family are missing a curry with meat so they asked us to bring something different. This looks perfect
Yay! That’s great to hear Nicola! I’ve made veg tagine for meat-eaters many a time and it’s always a hit.
Let me know how you all enjoy it.
Went down really well thank you Emma
Super. Glad to hear it