Lentils part 2

[jducoeur]

Continuing to experiment. This time it's a home run.

Lentil Jambalaya (makes 2 bowls)

1/2 cup small split lentils
2 cups water
1 leek (thanks to goldsquare for the suggestion!)
1 tsp low-sodium Better Than Boullion Chicken concentrate
1 link "kielbasa"-style Tofurky

Slice and rinse the leek as usual. Bring the lentils, water and boullion to a simmer; stir the leeks in. Cook until the lentils are done, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, dice the sausage. Saute in a little olive oil until browned and crisp. When the lentils are done, drain the leftover water (there won't be a lot), and stir in the browned sausage. Serve hot, with Creole Seasoning to taste.

That's a total win: flavorful enough that calling it Jambalaya isn't entirely crazy. Still probably saltier than is ideal for me, but the low-sodium boillion means that the salt is mainly limited to the sausage and seasoning. I'll definitely make this one regularly...

Comments

[cellio]

Sounds tasty! I've made lentils with onion but haven't tried leeks.

You stirred the sausage into the lentils, or the lentils into the sausage? (I have a suspicion that you'd get some nice effect by doing the latter, letting the lentils soak up the pan drippings and get that saute "browning" effect a bit, though I also grant that tofurky doesn't produce the same kinds of drippings as meat.)

[jducoeur]

Just so. I'd thought about it, but there were less than no drippings -- indeed, the sausage was a bit dry and crisp. So stirring them into the lentils allowed them to pick up a bit of useful moisture before eating...

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

Lentils and leeks are a great combo. I have a very simple dish made with lentils, leeks, veggie broth, barley, and a bay leaf that's incredibly tasty.

[meiczyslaw.livejournal.com]

As a one-time resident of St. Tammany Parish, it falls to me to point this out:

This ain't jambalaya. There's no Trinity.

Or rice.

At least you got meat. And broth.

Really, that's the basics of jambalaya: meat, trinity, rice, and broth. Depending on where you are in Louisiana, you might add tomatoes or seafood, or add spices.

(For those of you ignorant of Cajun cuisine, the Trinity is celery, bell peppers, and onions.)

Recipe: "Esau's Mess of Pottage"

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

1 c. Lentils
7 c. Water
1 T salt
5-6 Onions
3/4 c. rice
3/4 c. olive oil

Cover lentils w/ water. Add salt. Cover & cook 20 minutes.
Slice onions, brown in olive oil
Add rice to lentils & cook 15 minutes more.
Add onions & oil to lentils & rice.
Cook uncovered 15 minutes or until liquid is close to gone.

Re: Recipe: "Esau's Mess of Pottage"

[jducoeur]

Thanks -- I suspect I'll want to cut this in half (or even a quarter), but I'll have to try it sometime. From the look of this, the browned onions are the dominant flavor?

The combination of lentils and rice hadn't occurred to me: what kind of rice do you use? I keep both basmati and sweet rice in the house; I suspect the basmati is reasonably appropriate here, but not sure.

Re: Recipe: "Esau's Mess of Pottage"

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

You could definitely use basmati here. This serves 3-4ish & reheats pretty well. For a very simple dish, it's surprising how flavorful it is. And yes, the caramelized onions & the olive oil are the main source of flavor.

Re: Recipe: "Esau's Mess of Pottage"

[jducoeur]

Okay, cool. Intriguing dish, and I suspect that experimenting with the oils might produce nice variations. (I have a lot of flavored olive oils of various sorts. Some would be too strong here, but some seem like they might compliment it nicely.) Thanks!