I was just walking along the street and almost stepped on a beautiful pile of spilled red lentils! Of course, this could only happen to “The Lentil Guy”!!
Strange but pleasant sight on the street in Krakow today.
Red lentils cooked with Marmite and chilli recipe.
Having recently quit smoking (for a few days, at least), my appetite and taste buds have come alive. I know that if I eat the usual pasta, bread, potatoes and rice I’ll be overloading my body with carbohydrates and gaining weight fast, so I’ve decided to get all my my carbs exclusively from lentils and chickpeas which are a source of slow-burning carbs, giving me a chance to burn the energy that would otherwise be stored on the body as fat. And of course, it’s also a great excuse to create plenty of lentil recipes for my blog!
This evening I’ve made a bowl of soft red lentils, richly flavoured with marmite, with an added kick from chilli flakes, smoked paprika and ginger. Deliciously warming. The flavour has a hint of oriental about it, probably because of the ginger, and the marmite flavour being slightly reminiscent of soy sauce.
In case you’re unfamiliar with Marmite, it’s a thick dark-brown paste made from yeast extract, a by-product of the brewing industry. You’ll find it in the kitchen cupboard of approximately 50% of white British households (because the other 50% can’t stand the very strong, rich flavour!). I’ve been a fan since I was given it spread on toast with butter as a child, but it’s very rare that you’ll see it used in cooking.
Ingredients
Serves 1. If you want more, simply add more ingredients!
- Large teaspoon of marmite (including whatever sticks to the back of the teaspoon!)
- 250g red lentils
- 4 or 5 mushrooms
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped into small pieces
- 1 piece of ginger, about as big as the end of your thumb
- Large pinch of chilli flakes (or powder if you have it)
- Half a teaspoon as smoked paprika
- Half a clove of garlic
- Olive oil
Method
Like most recipes with lentils, this one is really simple. No real technical skill involved (yet another reason why lentils are awesome!).
- Wash the lentils, cover with water (about 2 mugs full) and put them in a medium-sized pan, medium heat.
- On a frying pan, stir-fry the onions, mushrooms, ginger and garlic on a low heat with the pan lid on.
- After 5 minutes or so, the lentils were start absorbing the water. Keep an eye on it and don’t let it stick.
- Once the lentils are starting to look “almost done”, add the marmite, chilli and paprika, so that the lentils absorb just a little of the flavour from these ingredients, and you end up with a rich sauce. Make sure you give it a good stir.
- When the lentils are soft, add the onions, mushrooms, ginger and garlic, mix it all together, and hey presto.. You’re done!
Twist: Reduce some of the excess moisture and blend it into a paste, for a delicious dip to eat with sticks of carrot and cucumber, or to scoop up with a flatbread.
So there you have it! If you enjoyed this, don’t forget to subscribe. Lots more coming.
Busy or lazy? How to cook lentils in batches.
Whether you’re a busy parent, worker, or artist… Or even if you’re quite lazy… Cooking a big batch of lentils for the week will save you a whole lot of time. One of the really great things about lentils is that they can be used as a base ingredient for so many different meals, whether to add substance, carbs or a protein fix.
Lentils can have a pretty bland taste, so it’s best to cook them in stock. I usually go for chicken or veggie stock cubes or bullion, organic if it’s available. Then it’s simply a matter of cooking up a kilo of lentils in the stock to give you a flavourful batch of lentils that you can use throughout the week by adding ingredients to.
I use red lentils almost exclusively, because they are so quick to cook (around 10-15 minutes for large batch like this, long enough so that they’re mostly mushy with a slight bite). For a kilo, 1 and a half or two stock cubes will be enough just to give them some flavour. You can add a close of garlic if you like, but I prefer to leave all herbs and spices out of this base mix so that I have a “generic” lentil base to work with in all kinds of recipes.
Allow the lentils to cool and then separate into containers. They will freeze perfectly and defrost overnight so that they’re ready for breakfast in the morning. Alternatively, the will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days if you seal them in a tight container.
A couple of large spoonfulls with 2 free-range eggs and a fistfull of fresh spinach is a great way to start the day. The slow carbs from the lentils will keep you going til beyond lunchtime (when needed, although don’t make a habit of skipping lunch of course). When I started eating lentils for breakfast instead of bread/toast I immediately noticed the difference, especially when working outdoors in the hot sunshine all day. My energy levels were sustained and I never felt hungry.
Having a stash of ready-prepared lentils in the fridge or freezer at all times makes it really easy to start introducing this healthy ingredient into your diet. You can just whack a dollop into the pan with diced & sliced veggies and/or meat and then add whatever spices you prefer. You can keep it interesting simply by trying different ingredients such as ginger, garlic, tomato paste, chilli, vinegar, fresh herbs or whatever you prefer. Each meal will basically end up resembling a very healthy casserole or curry, and within a week you’ll really start to appreciate the way all of that extra nutrition is helping your body to perform more optimally.
Once you’ve used up all of the pasta and rice in your cupboards, lentils make a perfect and much healthier replacement due to being high in fibre and protein and being much less fattening.
These magical tiny little orange things!
I was sitting here thinking about the fact that I’ve been cooking with lentils on-and-off for most of the past 5 years, and then I thought, “Why not start writing a blog about it?”. After all, I’m always recommending lentils to friends who are looking for an easy way to make their diet much more healthy. Why not reach out to the wider world?
So, here I am. Doing it. Like a boss. Everybody needs a hobby, and this is my new one.
The Lentil Guy 