Watch Lentils and Rice Partner For a Pantry Party

The other day a friend asked me what to do with lentils. A more relevant question is, I think, what can’t you do with lentils? They are very versatile as well as a nutritious and delicious addition to your pantry. Lentils are inexpensive and don’t require soaking or long cooking like beans and work well with all kinds of herbs and spices. Do you like Mediterranean flavors? Indian? Middle Eastern? Then lentils are for you! Cooking lentils is so easy.

One of my favorite simple meals is mujadara: lentils and rice with olive oil, onions and salt. Yup. That’s it, folks! Just 5 humble ingredients will take you to lentil paradise. I ate this 3 times a week when I was single and I still love it.

The most important thing to know is that having the patience to cook the onions long enough will make all the difference in the flavor. Skimp on that and the dish will just be so-so. In this case, I had some leftover brown rice in the refrigerator that had been cooked with turmeric. Once the lentils were ready, I sautéed some garlic in a skillet and reheated the rice. Then stirred the cooked lentils in.

Cooking Lentils

To begin, I chose a huge onion and cut one half into slices and the other half I chopped up into smaller pieces. I started cooking the chopped onions in a saucepan with olive oil and the sliced onions in a skillet with olive oil. Beginning with high heat, I stir continually until they start to get a little golden and then reduce heat to the lowest setting to cook low and slow until they are brown because that’s when they impart the desired depth of flavor.

I cooked the chopped onions about 40 minutes before adding 4 cups of water and 2 cups of sorted and rinsed lentils. Let that boil, then reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes until done. Once tender, scoop out the desired amount of lentils with a slotted spoon and mix with cooked rice.

I let the sliced onions cook for about 50 minutes in a skillet to get nicely caramelized as a topping for this dish. Is it absolutely necessary to do a topping of onions in addition to what’s in the cooked lentils? No, but I consider it minimal effort yielding maximum flavor and textural benefit. Michael agrees. He thinks of it like fried onion rings.

Variations

If you were using white rice, you could even cook it together with the lentils in one pot. What kind of spices could you add? Sometimes I make this with a combination of red pepper flakes, cardamom, cloves, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger and coriander. Choose one or two of those and experiment to see what turns you on. Allspice is great too. Salt to taste, of course.

As I often do, I prepare the first meal with limited ingredients because it gives me more versatility in using leftovers. In this case, I made a fast and fabulous soup the next day by adding chicken stock to the lentils along with some chopped spinach, garlic and lemon juice.

Guess what! I still have leftover lentils. What will I do with them? Maybe I will add a couple of other ingredients, mash them up and fry them like burgers? Or maybe I will eat them just as they are! Paired with fish and vegetables, I have another simple meal that’s ready in no time.

Lentils and rice are “must-haves” for my pantry. We used brown lentils here, but there are so many other varieties with their own unique qualities. Try some red ones in a colorful stew with squash and chickpeas. How do you like your lentils?