Today, people are increasingly thinking about health and returning to their diet cereals and vegetables, undeservedly forgotten over the past decades. One such product is lentils. She practically did not appear on the table of the Soviet man and was successfully replaced by buckwheat, pearl barley and peas. It is not surprising that young housewives know so little about what lentils are combined with and it is better to cook and serve it. In our article we will consider the most successful cooking options for this cereal.
Queen of your desk
Despite the fact that lentils did not receive the title of “Queen of the Fields” and was at one time almost forgotten, it has been eaten since prehistoric times. The ancient Egyptians baked fragrant nutritious bread from it, the Greeks used it as a protein-rich side dish, and the Romans often served as soup.
Today we add different types of beans to borsch, make vegetarian cutlets from peas or chickpeas, cook millet and couscous for garnish, and we don’t even remember about lentils. At the same time, she could coolly diversify any diet.
From this cereal, you get a satisfying side dish, it is great for making cold salads, stews, cereals and cutlets.
Lentil varieties
Lentils come in many varieties, and each one is used in its recipes. So, brown cereal has a pronounced nutty flavor and well complements stewed beef. And red boasts a more piquant taste, and therefore more often than others used in Asian cuisine.
The most neutral of all is green. If you are conservative in terms of tastes and do not know very well what lentils are combined with as a side dish, start your acquaintance with the lentil world with it.
Black cereal has the French name "Puy" and a piquant taste. Boil it for a long time, and serve competently. But it is the only one of all species of this plant that practically does not digest and retains its shape after preparation.
The simplest recipe for lentil porridge
Before proceeding with the preparation of complex and multicomponent dishes from lentils, it is worth mastering the recipe for simple porridge, which can be used both as a side dish and as an independent dish.
It is not difficult to prepare the cereal, however, it is not enough just to throw it into boiling water in the hope that the output will be aromatic, tasty food. There are several tricks thanks to which even the most fastidious gourmet will not refuse the received portion.
On one part of the cereal you need to take three parts of water. Pour lentils in cold water. After the future porridge boils, it needs to be salt and add two or three anise stars, bay leaf, parsley and a few balls of allspice. These spices will give lentils an unforgettable aroma and delicate taste. In order to make them easy to remove after cooking, seasonings should be placed in a small gauze bag.
Anise is what lentils combine with almost at the molecular level. If you do not tolerate these fragrant seeds, you can replace them with fennel or tarragon.
In the finished porridge, add a piece of butter, which will enhance the aroma and give the taste softness and richness.
Green lentils
And yet, not everyone agrees to chew empty cereal, no matter how tasty it may be. Today there is no shortage of choice of products, so it can and should be used as a side dish for the main dish. And it can be very, very diverse.
So what is lentil combined with as a side dish? This primarily depends on the type of cereal that you decide to use. The most versatile of all varieties is green. It can be safely served with all types of meat and vegetables. In addition, this is the only lentil cereal that can be combined with fish. Both products will benefit from such a neighborhood. Braised, baked and even boiled seafood with lentils is a great option for a nutritious dinner. As a dressing, you should use garlic or "white" creamy sauce.
Hot dishes are not the only cooking options for green lentils. What does this cereal in salads go with? First of all, with feta cheese and feta. Cook 50 grams of flavorful porridge, cool, add chopped sheep or goat cheese, some fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes - and a delicious snack is ready. Such a salad can be laid out in small portioned bowls or baskets of unsweetened shortcrust pastry.
Red lentils
In the market or in the supermarket today you can find cereals of almost all colors of the rainbow. All of it is certainly healthy and tasty. The red version of lentils requires more delicate handling. It boils quickly enough: the cooking time is about 20 minutes, while the other of its colorful counterparts must be kept on fire for at least half an hour.
Because of this feature, it is red cereal that is most often used in mashed soups and casseroles. It creates an incredible creamy structure, which is difficult to achieve when using other varieties.
What does red lentil combine with? Its piquant taste can attract attention when served with meat, so this kind of side dish is usually used for any kind of vegetable dishes. Sautéed onion, mushrooms, eggplant and zucchini is an excellent neighbor on a plate for boiled or stewed red lentils.
If you don't like the vegetarian menu, try liver patties or different types of smoked meat as the main dish. For such a combination of products, it is advisable to serve a neutral salad of fresh vegetables.
Black lentils
Beluga is one of the names of black lentil groats. It is considered the most nutritious and healthy of all varieties known to mankind. In such a product almost all vitamins and minerals are collected, which, which is especially important, do not change their properties with prolonged heat exposure.
The taste of black lentils is also interesting: it is spicy, rich and has nothing to do with nuts, peas or legumes. Such cereals are better than others for complex meat dishes from turkey, chicken, pork or beef with a wide variety of sauces.
When cooking for a long time, black lentils can partially lose their color, so culinary experts strongly advise cooking it for a couple and at least 40 minutes: this will preserve the shade and taste.
Sandwiches with butter, tomatoes and cereals are considered delicious cold snacks. At first glance, small black beads are difficult to distinguish from caviar, but the taste speaks for itself.
Brown lentils
Most people, when buying grains, believe that they will get boiled porridge at the exit, reminiscent of the taste of chickpeas or peas. This is fundamentally wrong. What does brown lentil go well with? This cereal has the most nutty flavor. At the same time, its specific taste is almost indistinguishable in casseroles and cutlets.
Boiled mashed lentils should be mixed in a 1: 1 ratio with any kind of minced meat, add an egg, finely chopped onion, form small flattened balls and roll them in breading flour. A healthier variation of cutlets allows baking in the oven at a temperature of 180 degrees.
Fans of a crispy crust can fry the resulting meatballs in a mixture of butter and vegetable oil. Serve such cutlets with any garnish, including with all types of lentils.
Protein bomb for vegetarians
Very often people, for some reason, adhering to a plant diet, suffer from a protein deficiency. This applies to vegans, vegetarians, patients with allergies to animal products and those who fast.
Not all of them think about adjusting their diet and do not always consider macronutrients that enter the body with food. However, a shortage of certain substances can have an extremely negative effect on health. Protein deficiency can immediately be suspected by exfoliating or brittle nails, falling hair, swelling and a general condition of malaise.
In this case, lentils can also come to the rescue. In terms of protein, it is ahead of even the tofu beloved by many vegetarians. 100 grams of cereal contains 9 grams of protein.
What vegetables are lentils good for? First of all, it is worth paying attention to all kinds of sauté and stew: stewed zucchini, eggplant and pepper, seasoned with salt, hot pepper, basil and tomato paste perfectly complement the taste of lentil porridge.
All the same set of vegetables can be grilled or baked in the oven. Lentil groats are also good in combination with mushrooms fried with onions. Such dishes can be prepared in portioned clay pots: put two tablespoons of prepared vegetables on the bottom of the container, add 50 grams of cereal, 150 ml of water or broth, 20 grams of butter, a few anise stars and other spices to your taste. The dish should be cooked in the oven at a temperature of 180 degrees for about 45 minutes. The finished dish should be sprinkled with finely chopped herbs.
If porridge is not to your liking, then try aromatic lentil cutlets in combination with stewed cabbage: this dish is not suitable for fasting, as it contains eggs, but diversifies any family diet.
Take 100 g of cereal and soak for several hours in cold water. 1 grate potatoes, carrots and onions on a fine grater and mix with lentils in the mixture, add the egg and spices to your taste. From the prepared "minced meat", form cutlets that can be rolled in breadcrumbs or flour and fry in butter. Such meatballs are good with sour cream and fresh herbs.
Groats on groats and groats drives
There are people (primarily children!) Who are extremely skeptical of all types of vegetables and do not eat them. This is sad statistics, but lentils found a council in such choices in the form of a dish with the Italian name "Fakorizo".
This is a fragrant lentil-rice porridge. To prepare it, you will need:
- 1 cup long grain rice
- 1 cup lentils
- 1 clove of garlic
- a tablespoon of tomato paste or ketchup,
- 1 onion,
- 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil,
- cumin and other spices to taste.
Wash the lentils in cold water and boil until half cooked, chop the onion and garlic finely and fry in olive oil, mix all the ingredients, add caraway seeds, rice and pour 3 cups of meat or vegetable broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for half an hour.
If for some reason you don’t eat rice and think about what kind of cereals lentils are combined with, you can without hesitation replace it with quinoa, wheat or even buckwheat. All these dishes are prepared according to the single recipe described above and can be served both as a hot dish or as a warm salad.
Fragrant porridge without special costs
At first glance, it may seem that lentils are rather capricious cereals and not everyone can cook them. But this is a false impression. In fact, it is important to know which seasonings to add so that she plays with new colors.
What spices is lentil suitable for? Unfortunately, spices and spices, loved and familiar to many from childhood, like salt, pepper, garlic and onions will not help here. Something more exotic is needed. However, today in any supermarket you can find everything you need.
The standard set of seasonings for lentils includes zuru or caraway seeds, ground ginger root, saffron, turmeric, asafoetida, anise and nutmeg.
Complete set in one plate
Lentils - tasty, healthy and aromatic cereals, which will provide you with not only vitamins, minerals, but also long-term satiety. It is easy to prepare and relatively inexpensive. In addition, you do not have to think long about the question with which products lentils are combined: with almost all.
It doesn't matter if you cook beef or turkey, fish or pork ribs, fresh vegetable salad or steamed chicken - lentils are well suited to all these dishes.