Moroccan Spiced Lentils

After eating so much meat for the last few days i wanted to cook something vegetarian.

Recipe from https://minimalistbaker.com/saucy-moroccan-spiced-lentils/

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

COOK TIME: 20 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups water

  • 1 cup green lentils (rinsed and well drained or sub canned lentils lightly rinsed and well drained)

  • 3 cloves garlic, skins removed

  • 1/2 medium onion (or 2 small shallots), chopped

  • 1 large (or 2 small) red bell pepper 

  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste

  • 1 1/2 Tbsp coconut sugar or maple syrup (or stevia to taste)

  • 1/2 tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)

  • 1 Tbsp smoked or sweet paprika (plus more to taste)

  • 1 tsp ground cumin (plus more to taste)

  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander (plus more to taste)

  • 1 tsp ground ginger (plus more to taste)

  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric (plus more to taste)

  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less to preferred spice level)

  • 1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)

  • 3/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or cilantro (I used 1/2 cilantro + 1/2 parsley)

Method:

Cook lentils first by bringing water to a boil and adding lentils. Bring back to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer (uncovered) for about 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.

In the meantime, to a food processor or small blender, add garlic and onion or shallot (I had sauteed these), bell pepper, tomato paste, coconut sugar, sea salt, paprika, cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and apple cider vinegar. Mix to thoroughly combine.

Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more tomato paste for depth of flavor, spices for more overall flavor (especially coriander and paprika), cayenne for heat, coconut sugar for sweetness, apple cider vinegar for acidity, or salt for saltiness. Set aside.

Once the lentils have cooked, drain off any excess liquid and then add spice mixture and parsley or cilantro and mix well to combine (see photo).

Enjoy immediately with salads, rice (or cauliflower rice), bowls, and more. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days or in the freezer up to 1 month.

Super easy and quick recipe to make. In just 30 minutes you can have a dish that is very filling and that packs a lot of flavor. it is also very pretty with the bright red and green colors. while my lentils were also cooking, i made some white rice but added a few spices before cooking to add a bit more flavor. i ACTUALLY wanted to make a moroccan rice to accompany the lentils but many of the recipes required ingredients i didn’t have such as saffron or dates, so i just added whatever spices i had one hand such as paprika, cumin, coriander, TURMERIC, one bay leaf and then some salt and pepper. it was added a slight flavor to normal boring white rice, but you could also just make normal rice or cauliflower rice as the recipe mentioned. as it takes just 30 minutes to cook it is a great option for a simple and healthy weekday meal.

cooking, vegan, vegetarianJackie Wongmoroccan, lentils, spicy, bell pepperComment