Lentils

[metatron]

I eat a huge amount of lentils at least once a day (I eat 5 times a day). I make something that does not look that appetising but tastes nice, its a kind of vegetable terrine.

Using a large pressure cooker, you chop and add:

Bunch of celery
20 carrots
4 red onions
Broccoli
4 cloves of garlic
Little olive oil

You want about 60% of the pan full of chopped veg, you can add nearly any veg, peppers add a nice sweetness for example.

You then let it fry for about 10 minites turning the veg as needed, you then add soy sauce, worcester sauce, habanero sauce, pepper, four stock cubes and put boiling hot water (from the kettle) to about 5cm from the top of the pressure cooker and bring to the boil. Once its boiling add an entire bag of red lentils, put the lid on the pan and let it cook for 35 minutes.

After 35 minutes, release the pressure and mix. You will basically have a baby food like mush with chucks of soft broccoli and carrots. Split into containers and freeze as needed.

If you want to pretty it up, you can line a loaf tin with cling film and pour the mush in. It sets as a block when at room temperature, but remains moist when reheated.

I like to roast chicken breasts in spices and slice and place on top, then just microwave them as needed.

[soutie]

Green lentils (Puy) are nice just cooked in stock with onion and sausages and don't require soaking either. Not exactly a prep friendly recipe though! (But maybe one for using up old preps)

That's a good point about the cook time, I did wonder if they were practical for a time with limited fuel. I've tried to find a list of cooking times for pulses with no joy, does anyone happen to know which pulses cook quickest? (Sorry to go slightly off topic)

Always use a pressue cooker! cuts cooking time and therefore save fuel, a pressure cooker should be on every preppers must have list, Lentil soup in 20 minutes cheap cuts of meat cooked in under an hour. Get yourself a pressure cooker, I'm a fan.

Mongrel

thats a great idea , ebay here i come

[2ndRateMind]

I do a pretty standard dhal, with onions, red and green lentils, and a can of coconut juice or dried coconut blocks. If turnips or swede are in season, they go in, too. Apart from that, all the spices you would expect - cumin, coriander seed, fenugreek, green cardamoms, cloves, and loads and loads of chillies. Or, just curry powder. Sounds expensive, but it's not. It's store-cupboard food, and I've lived off it many times when there is month at the end of the money.

[nickdutch]

Dont forget to learn how to sprout them and then use them in salads, in sandwiches, to top off any main course or as a meal in their own right. Brown lentil sprouts are awesome.

[happyhacker]

Can one freeze things with clingfilm? Or is it just to get it frozen then remove the film for longer freezer storage? Cheers.

[teatowls]

Some recipes here : http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/tag-243 ... ?o_is=DH_3

I recommend a dalh, soup or sauce.

[featherstick]

Lentils can form the base of lots of soups as well as dahl itself. I also like to use them as a thickener in stews and casseroles. I just throw a small handful in when cooking and they break down sufficiently to give a nice thick sauce. This weekend I made a lamb curry with about 1/2 a pound of diced lamb, some leftover chickpeas, aubergine, pepper, pattypan squash, and lentils. A lovely rich meaty-flavoured curry that cost pennies per portion.

Really simple dahl:
Fry an onion with turmeric until soft, add cumin seed, chilli, coriander. Dry fry lentils for a few minutes, then add water and cook until soft.

Slightly more complicated dahl:
Fry onion with turmeric until soft, dry fry lentils and add water and cook until soft. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat oil and fry sliced garlic, sliced ginger, cloves, cumin, chilli, cinnamon. Cook gently until garlic is browned, then add to lentils and simmer for a few more minutes. Yum!