Tomatoey Garlicy Lentils
Don’t be scared of lentils. I had rarely eaten and never cooked them until this recipe. And what a waste. All those years without lentils! It’s like cooking with dried beans but with none of the waiting and hassle. You get all the nutrition and budget friendliness without the soaking and rinsing and planning ahead.
I’ve made this recipe countless times. It’s even good enough to serve to guests.
Healthy - Okay, folks. Hold onto your hats because this is one is a nutritional powerhouse. About 380 calories. Good fats. And more than 12 grams of fiber! Not to mention it’s high protein and low carb if that’s what you’re into. Needless to say, you will not be hungry after a bowl full of this stuff! And it tastes GOOD! I made it again this week and it still gets an “Ummmm” from Husband. See stats here.
Cheap - A whole recipe probably costs less than $4. And that’s about 3 main course servings.
Easy - About 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, and you only have to chop up two or three things.
Serves 3 main courses.
Ingredients
- 5 teaspoons quality olive oil, divided
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium to large tomato (about 1/2 pound), minced
- 1/4 cup smoked sun dried tomatoes, minced
- 1 cup dried red lentils, picked over,washed and drained
- 1 can Amy’s Chunky Tomato Bisque
- 1 teaspoon salt
- lemon juice, about half a small lemon, or to taste
- red pepper flakes to taste
Directions
- Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large 2 quart pot over medium heat.
- Add garlic and cook until JUST turning golden. Don’t burn it!
- Add tomatoes and cook down to thick, around 8 minutes.
- Add lentils, 2 1/4 cups water, and salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover.
- Simmer 30 minutes.
- Add lemon juice, red pepper flakes and about half the can of soup and mix well.
- Heat up the rest of the soup in the microwave or on the stove.
- When serving, scoop lentils in the bowl then dollop soup in the center and drizzle with one teaspoon of high quality olive oil.
- If you can’t find the soup and smoked sun dried tomatoes it’s okay to leave it out. The lentils are good on their own just not as tomatoey.
- I’ve tried using a can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh, but it didn’t taste nearly as good.
- It has a lot of protein on it’s own but if you want to make it more of a meal it’s good with sausage diced up and added in. We last had it with Central Market Garlic Chicken sausage.
- I’ve even used this recipe to make lentil cakes. I cooked down the lentils until there was very little moisture. Added breadcrumbs until I got a thick enough consistency. Coated the cakes in Panko and pan fried them in canola oil then dolloped them with the soup before serving. They make a good finger food for parties.
Posted in Recipes