"Does anyone cook with lentils. If so"

Bear, here is a recipe for you!!  It's cold outside.  You might like this!

Lentil Barley Soup

1/4 c. butter

3/4 c. chopped onion

6 vegetarian bouillion cubes (if extra large use only 3)

3/4 c. pearl barley

3/4 c. chopped celery

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. rosemary

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 28 oz. can tomatoes, coarsely chopped and undrained

3/4 c. dry lentils, rinsed and drained

1 c. thinly sliced carrots

Melt butter in large soup kettle.  Cook onion, celery and garlic until tender.  Add all remaining ingredients, except carrots.  Bring to a boil & reduce heat.  Cover and simmer about 50 minutes.  Add carrots and simmer 20 minutes more.  Note:  This soup is very thick - do not add extra barley or lentils.  You may have to add extra vegetable broth the next day to turn it from a thick sludge into soup.  This is my mom's recipe and we love it!!

I will for go the usual Lentil soup recipe because I'm sure that you either have one or will get one with this question. You can use lentils in so many other dishes.

LENTIL LOAF

Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you. It's like making a meatloaf. This makes a moist, yummy loaf that even the carnivors in your life will love. It also makes a great sandwich the next day.

Tomato Sauce Topping.

1 6 oz can of tomato paste.

1 tbl sugar

1/2 tbl cider vinegar

1 tbs onion flakes

1 tsp garlic salt

Lentil loaf

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 block extra firm tofu

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup red pepper

1 tbl tomato topping sauce (above)

3 tbl yellow corn meal

3/4 cup cooked and drained lentils

1 tbl balsamic vinegar

1 tbl soy sauce

2 tbl olive oil

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp onion salt

1/4 tsp dried mustard

Woo, that is some list isn't it. LoL!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the tomato sauce topping mixture together first because you will need a tablespoon to mix into the lentil loaf. The rest will be set aside to coat the loaf when completed.

Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to a skillet on medium heat, add chopped onions, red and green bell pepper and let cook until onions are transparent (about 5 minutes), stirring frequently.

In a food processor chop oats about 5 quick pulses.

Drain tofu well and press with hands until all excess water comes out. In a mixing bowl mash tofu with a fork or use grater to coarsely grate.
 

In the same mixing bowl combine, cooked onions and peppers, 1 tablespoon of tomato mixture, oats, corn meal, lentils, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme, cumin, chili powder, parsley, garlic and onion salt, dried mustard and mix until well combined.

Spray a large sheet of tin foil with cooking spray to form loaf on, place on cookie sheet. On top and in the middle of tin foil form loaf mixture into loaf that is 2 1/2 inches tall and 4 1/2 inches square. Coat top and sides with tomato mixture (you will probably have some left over to spoon on later).

Cook loaf for 20 minutes, then cover with tin foil and cook for another 10 minutes. After cooking let the loaf cool for 10 minutes before cutting into it.
 

LENTIL PATTIES

If you like falafal you'll like this recipe.

1 1/4 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed

1/2 cup rolled oats

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons ground coriander seeds

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 large egg, beaten lightly

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

oil for frying

6 pitast

lettuce leaves

Add lentils to a saucepan of salted water and bring water to a boil. Cook lentils at a bare simmer until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

In a blender or food processor grind oats into meal. Drain lentils and in a bowl combine with garlic, coriander, cumin, and 3 tablespoons ground oats.

Mash lentils coarse with a potato masher. Stir in egg and salt and pepper to taste and form mixture into six 3-inch patties about 1/2-inch thick. Coatpatties with remaining ground oats and chill, uncovered, 20 minutes. (they must be chilled or they will fall apart)

In a small bowl mix together the yogurt, mint and salt and pepper to taste.

In a large skillet heat 1/4 inch oil over moderately high heat until hot but no smoking and fry patties until browned and crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Serve burgers in pitas with lettuce and yogurt mint sauce

MEDITERRANEAN LENTIL SALAD

3/4 cup dried green lentils, (you want to end up with 2 cups cooked)

2 cups water

3oz jar roasted bell peppers (or you can roast yourself), chopped

2 Tbs finely minced onion

2 medium cloves garlic, pressed

1/2  cup chopped fresh basil

1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

3 Tbs balsamic vinegar

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

Salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Wash and pick through your lentils, then drain. Combine lentils and 2 cups lightly salted water in  a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and cook at low temperature for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are cooked but still firm. Cook gently so lentils don't get mushy. When done, drain any excess water, and lightly rinse under cold water. Continue to drain excess water. Mince the onion and press garlic. Place lentils in a bowl and add peppers, onion, garlic, basil, walnuts, vinegar and 2 Tbs olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Marinate for at least 1 hour before serving.

 Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 1 quart water
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can lentils, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

Melt the butter with the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, sugar, and some salt and pepper. Cook until the onions become deep brown and sticky, about 20 minutes, stirring every 4 or 5 minutes (if the onions color too quickly, reduce the heat to medium-low).

While the onions caramelize, make the rice. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the rice and stir, cooking it until the grains begin to turn opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the water, lentils, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the rice is tender and has absorbed all of the liquid, about 20 minutes. Serve topped with the caramelized onions.

French Lentil Soup with Sausage

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups lentils (preferably French green)
• 6 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ounces smoked sausage, like kielbasa
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or to taste

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 4-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add lentils, water, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to moderate and cook, covered, until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

While lentils are cooking, heat remaining tablespoon oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown sausage on all sides, about 5 minutes. Cool sausage slightly on a cutting board, then cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Add sausage to soup and stir in vinegar.

Lentil Soup (my favorite)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound lentils (approximately 1 1/4 cups)
• 11 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2/3 cup dried elbow pasta
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the lentils and mix to coat. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

I’m going to suppress my usual modesty [and here I pause to give everyone time to finish rolling their eyes] and give you the recipe for what will be, without question, the best soup you’ve ever had.  This is the perfect time to make it, since it really seems like more of a "winter" soup (thick, hearty, comforting), but I make it year-round.  I’m sure it originally came from a cookbook...somewhere...but knowing my tendency to alter recipes, I kinda doubt there’s much resemblence to the original.

You can substitute vegetable broth for the chicken and make it totally vegetarian, but that’s up to you. The ingredient amounts are pretty forgiving, so for example, just throw in a couple potatoes and don’t worry about the measuring.

(Incidentally, if you’re on a diet, this is astoundingly healthy.  I plugged the ingredients into a calorie calculator once and not only is it low in calories and ridiculously low in fat, it also has tons of fiber.)

Ingredients:
1 c. lentils
1 tsp. oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 c. chopped potatoes (about 3 small)
2 to 3 carrots, diced
1 11.5 oz. can tomato juice
5 c. water
3 Tbsp. chicken soup powder (or vegetable soup, if you want to go totally vegetarian)
1 Tbsp. spicy soy sauce
1/3 c. regular brown rice (uncooked)
1 tsp. thyme
1 to 2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
1-1/2 c. frozen corn
(note: the amounts by the spices are estimates...I just add handfuls and taste)

Directions:
In a big soup pot, saute the onion, celery and garlic in the oil for a couple minutes.

Add everything else except the corn. Simmer, covered, over low heat for 30 minutes.  Give it a stir every once in a while, and watch it kind of carefully...it’s supposed to be fairly thick, but because it’s thick it can burn.  Add a little more water if you need to.

Add the corn (still frozen). Cover and continue to simmer for about another 15 minutes.

It looks like a lot of ingredients, and that’s kind of true, but it’s still awfully easy to make, you get tons, and it only gets one pot dirty.  (That’s a biggie in my house.)  Hope this is the kind of thing you’re looking for!

Lentil soup is a wonderful way to eat in the winter time. Connecticut is about to get a winter storm with about half a foot of snow. Curl up with a book and a bowl of lentil soup, accompanied by some health bread.

There are many recipes for lentil soups. I suspect it is excellent cooked with pieces of pork. I can't eat that, so I use a vegetarian recipe. Since I don't know precisely what diet you are on, here are a number of vegetarian lentil soup recipes:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,vegetarian_lentil_soup,FF.html

If you can cook with pork, use the website to search for lentil soup after deleting the word vegetarian.

I like this recipe for a Mediterranean Lentil Soup:

http://www.soupsong.com/rlentil7.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I also love Indian cuisine. Dal is a dish of cooked lentils. Of course, there are many different kinds. Read the following link: http://www.hookedonheat.com/2007/05/25/intro-to-indian-part-2-a-lesson-in-lentils/ There is a delicious recipe at the bottom of the webpage.

Indians eat this straight, or with rice or with Indian bread. Americans might treat this more as a side dish. If you are unsure about spicy Indian food, the easiest way to experiment is to go to an Indian restaurant near you for lunch when it will be less expensive. Be sure you are at a restaurant that says it has a large vegetarian selection. Most Indian restaurants serve meat to cater to American palates. Many Hindus are strict vegetarians. If you go to a vegetarian Indian restaurant, you will be in for a real treat. You also will find more delicious creations made with lentils than you can imagine.

Enjoy!