Lentil recipes have recently become increasingly popular. After all, they make tasty and hearty soups, salads and side dishes. In addition, cooking lentils requires very little time, when compared, for example, with beans. And the dish at the same time turns out to be tastier and much more healthy. Lentils help to feel full, provide the body with nutrients. For many, this product even replaces meat.
Lentil dishes, for example, soups are considered traditional in the cuisines of many countries of the world - in India, Turkey, in the Caucasus. In the world there are a large number of varieties and types of lentils, so every time you can surprise your loved ones with new, yet unfamiliar shades of taste.
Lentil soup
For many, lentil recipes start with soups. They come out not only tasty and satisfying, but also healthy. Indeed, in lentils themselves, a high protein content is about 24 grams per 100 grams of cereal. This will convince you of the usefulness of this ingredient. Moreover, lentils are a rich source of folic acid and iron.
If you want to make a delicious dish of lentils, the recipe with the photo will help you do this quickly and without errors. To do this, you will need to stock up on such components:
- a tablespoon of olive oil;
- carrot;
- 2 stalks of celery;
- onion;
- a glass of red lentils;
- a pinch of salt;
- 6 glasses of broth;
- Bay leaf;
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice;
- yogurt - you will need it for serving.
Cooking process
For this lentil recipe, chop celery, carrots and onions. Vegetables must be fried in a saucepan for five minutes in a small amount of olive oil. Be sure to add a pinch of salt at this stage and mix everything thoroughly.
By the way, this is a recipe for red lentils. It is recommended to use it for this soup. Lentils are poured into the broth, bay leaf is added and the resulting mixture is brought to a boil. After that, the fire is reduced to a minimum, cooked for about 20 minutes. Do not forget about lemon juice and mix everything again.
Before serving with this recipe, it is recommended to decorate the lentil dish with yogurt or olive oil.
Chicken and Bacon Soup
Another recipe for a delicious lentil dish is also a soup, but for a change, chips and bacon are added to it, which gives it a special piquant taste.
For cooking, take the following ingredients:
- 4 slices of bacon;
- onion;
- 2 carrots;
- 2 stalks of celery;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste;
- a tablespoon of paprika;
- a teaspoon of salt;
- caraway;
- a pinch of cinnamon;
- one and a half cups of lentils;
- vegetable or chicken saturated broth;
- Bay leaf;
- half a glass of Greek yogurt;
- lemon;
- chopped parsley.
Cooking Bacon Soup
Be sure your family will love this lentil recipe. You can learn how to cook simply and tasty with this ingredient without difficulty. First, fry the bacon to make it crispy. Then put it on a paper towel to get rid of excess fat.
Cut the carrots into small strips, and onions and celery stalks into cubes. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry vegetables in it for about five minutes.
Then add the tomato paste, finely chopped garlic, cumin, pepper, cinnamon and salt. After this, the dish must be kept on the fire for about 30 seconds and immediately removed. When the garlic begins to give off a pleasant aroma, add all the ingredients to the broth and add the lentils. The soup is brought to a boil, and then the fire is reduced as much as possible. Next, the soup is cooked for about half an hour.
During this time, mix the juice of one fresh lemon with yogurt. Before serving, decorate the soup with this yogurt dressing and bacon chips.
Lentil salad
A variety of salads are also obtained from lentils, which can serve as an original snack or an aperitif before a hearty dinner. For example, for a classic salad based on this ingredient, take:
- 2 cups lentils;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 2 tablespoons granular mustard;
- half a teaspoon of salt;
- 2 tablespoons of wine vinegar;
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil;
- 2 cucumbers;
- 200 grams of pitted olives;
- 10 mint leaves;
- 200 grams of feta cheese.
Lentils should be mixed with bay leaves and chopped garlic in a large saucepan. Pour all four glasses of water, bring to a boil at maximum heat, and then cook another quarter hour. Drain the water, cool the lentils.
Prepare the dressing at the same time. To do this, mix vinegar, olive oil, salt and mustard. Finely chop the cucumbers and olives, add to the salad along with feta cheese, lentils and special dressing. This is a recipe with a photo of a simple lentil dish that will appeal to all households.
Warm salad
Based on this ingredient, you can cook a warm salad. To do this, you need to take:
- 200 grams of green lentils;
- 200 ml of chicken stock;
- a pinch of salt;
- a pinch of pepper;
- 240 grams of bacon;
- 2 small onions;
- 2 sprigs of rosemary;
- 3 sheets of sage;
- 2 tablespoons of capers;
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil;
- a tablespoon of Dijon mustard;
- 5 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar;
- a bunch of parsley.
This is a recipe for green lentils, which you should definitely learn. Lentils are pre-boiled for 40 minutes. During this time, bacon is fried to a delicious crisp.
Onions, rosemary, sage are added to the same pan, chopped garlic is sent there. All this is prepared for two to three minutes, until you begin to feel the obvious aroma of garlic. After that, lentils are mixed with bacon, onions, sage, chopped capers and parsley. Beat the olive oil with mustard and vinegar, and then season the salad with this mixture.
Lentil roll
Another original dish from lentils, a recipe with a photo of which you will find in our article, is a roll. The recipe itself is simple, it will take you about half an hour to cook.
You will need:
- half a glass of red lentils;
- three quarters of a glass of bulgur;
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil;
- onion;
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin;
- 3 teaspoons of red pepper;
- a few feathers of green onions;
- 2 tablespoons of parsley;
- a pinch of salt;
- 6 bell peppers;
- 6 pita breads;
- 2 cups grated cabbage;
- a quarter cup of tahini;
- a quarter of a clove of garlic;
- 2 teaspoons of parsley.
We begin to prepare this delicious dish of lentils, a recipe with a photo of which will help you, by making pepper paste. To do this, mix a teaspoon of salt with a pinch of black and red pepper and bell pepper. All this is immersed in a food processor and we achieve the formation of a homogeneous mass. Now simmer it in a pan for about two hours, stirring occasionally.
We take on the filling for the roll. Cook lentils, add bulgur to it and wait about half an hour to absorb all the water. At this time, fry the onion, cut into cubes in a frying pan in olive oil, until it becomes soft. We send red pepper and caraway seeds to the same mixture, cook for another minute. Then the turn of parsley, lentils and green onions. Mix everything thoroughly.
Do not forget about the sauce for the roll. Combine garlic, tahini, parsley, a teaspoon of red pepper and 200 ml of warm water. Beat until a homogeneous mass is formed. We spread after that our filling on pita bread, add a couple of tablespoons of sauce and the same amount of pepper paste. Turn the roll, cut in half and serve.
Irish cake
In the cookbooks, you will surely find a recipe for a pie prepared on the basis of lentils, mushrooms and potatoes. It is also well known as Irish pie. This is a recipe for green lentils, which you can decorate even a festive table. You will need these ingredients:
- 5 sweet potatoes;
- a glass of green lentils;
- three quarters of a cup of oatmeal;
- Bay leaf;
- a teaspoon of salt;
- a tablespoon of olive oil;
- 450 grams of mushrooms;
- onion;
- carrot;
- celery stalk;
- three quarters of a glass of vegetable stock;
- a quarter cup of red wine;
- a tablespoon of soy sauce;
- a tablespoon of tomato paste;
- a teaspoon of paprika;
- a quarter cup of parsley.
Cooking a pie in the oven
Preheat the oven to a temperature of 200 degrees. We bake potatoes in it for 20 minutes and cool it.
We take a medium-sized pan in which we mix oatmeal, lentils, five glasses of water and a bay leaf. Cook the mixture for about 20 minutes over low heat to make the lentils soft. After that, take out the bay leaf and drain the water.
We cut the mushrooms into cubes and fry them in olive oil so that they brown a little, add chopped onions, celery, garlic and carrots. Cook until onion is soft and transparent.
After that, make the fire medium, add tomato paste, lentils, sauce, broth, parsley, pepper and spices. Cook for about five minutes. From the potatoes we take out the pulp, knead with a fork, pepper and salt. We take baking dishes, evenly distribute the lentil mixture, and place the potatoes on top. We bake for half an hour so that the potatoes are covered with a crust.
Lentil Meatballs
Lentil meatballs are very tasty. To prepare them, take:
- a glass of lentils;
- boiled turkey meat;
- 2 chicken eggs;
- two thirds of a glass of breadcrumbs;
- a quarter cup of feta cheese;
- 2 tablespoons of olives;
- a tablespoon of capers;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 3 tablespoons of parsley;
- half a teaspoon of oregano;
- 2 teaspoons of dried dill;
- a pinch of pepper and salt;
- a glass of natural yogurt;
- teaspoon of lemon zest.
In a food processor we carefully chop turkey meat and lentils. In the resulting mince, add crackers, eggs, low-fat yogurt, chopped capers and olives, feta cheese, crushed clove of garlic, oregano, parsley, salt, dill and pepper. Mix everything thoroughly and let it brew for a quarter of an hour.
At this time, preheat the oven to 200 degrees, form the meatballs and put them on a baking sheet. They are baked for about 20 minutes, until crusty.