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October 19, 2012 9 Comments

Food on Fridays: Garlicky Lentils and Tomatoes

For the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—though we love to try new dishes, your post doesn’t have to be a recipe. We’re pretty relaxed over here, and stories and photos are as welcome as menus and recipes. When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the button to include with your post. It ties us together visually. Then fill in the boxes of this linky tool to join the fun!

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Food on Fridays with Ann

A friend of mine heard about all my tomatoes and suggested a simple recipe. The abundant garlic this dish calls for does not overwhelm the other ingredients, but I do think that I would cut it down a bit.

Garlicky Lentils and Tomatoes

  • 5 cloves of garlic (I would use less next time)
  • enough oil to saute the garlic (maybe a tablespoon + a bit more?)
  • Spices (my friend said she thinks this is really flexible and a person can use whatever he or she likes: she’s used curry at times; for other versions she’s tried thyme and rosemary…that’s what I used)
  • 3 large fresh tomatoes, diced (that’s what I used, because I had so many from our final harvest; my friend said that canned tomatoes can be used, as well, so maybe one can of diced tomatoes?)
  • 1 cup of lentils (red, brown, whatever you’ve got)
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • (some minced or diced onion, if you like—I can’t eat onion, but if you can it would probably add a nice flavor)

Directions:

In a medium-sized pot, saute the garlic (and onion, if you decide to add some) in oil on medium-high heat. After the garlic is cooked, add spices along with the fresh tomatoes and stir so that the diced tomatoes soften up a little (but not too much, as this is going to cook for a few minutes on stove).

Add lentils and water, cover, turn heat to low, and let lentils absorb the water. I let the red lentils cook a bit long, so they got pretty mushy. I think red lentils can be done in 10-15 minutes, whereas brown lentils might take 15-20 minutes. You can lift the lid, stir, and check when you are close by spooning some out and taking a bite to test. Also, I felt that too much water remained at the end, so I removed the lid and let the excess water steam off.

Verdict:

While this vegan dish didn’t rock my world, I did like it enough to make it again as a quick and easy dinner option. I also enjoyed the leftovers for lunch, so I’ll continue to tweak the amount of garlic and types of spices to find a combination that suits me.

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Photos by Ann Kroeker. “Pin” these images in a way that links back to this particular page, giving proper credit.

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Filed Under: Food on Fridays Tagged With: lentil and tomato recipe, lentil recipe, lentils

Comments

  1. 'Becca says

    October 19, 2012 at 11:53 am

    That sounds good and really easy to make! We happen to have most of a can of tomatoes, left over from another recipe, so I’ll try this tomorrow. Thanks!

    I linked a silly food-related post today. I also have a more practical recent post: What to Serve for Coffee Hour.

    Reply
    • 'Becca says

      October 22, 2012 at 1:27 pm

      We made it with curry powder (plus a bit of cinnamon) and thought it was scrumptious! Not too much garlic for us! It’s a very easy recipe to make. For red lentils, I think the amount of liquid could be cut down by a cup or so.

      Reply
      • annkroeker says

        October 22, 2012 at 1:54 pm

        Yay! So glad that you could use it–love the curry flavor, and the cinnamon, wow, I never would have thought of that but it sounds yummy. Also, thank you for explaining the liquid for red lentils. I’m not experienced with lentils and normally use the brown ones. I appreciate your knowledge.

        Reply
  2. trishsouthard says

    October 19, 2012 at 1:16 pm

    Oh Ann…. thank you for posting a recipe for lentils! I made a whole bag and they are sitting in my frig waiting to be seasoned. You are a blessing!

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      October 19, 2012 at 1:52 pm

      Cool! You can just saute the garlic, add spices and tomatoes, and you’ll have a simple meal. If you make them thick, you could serve over rice. I’ll bet that would be good.

      Reply
  3. Barb @ Frugal Local Kitchen says

    October 19, 2012 at 1:52 pm

    Ugh! I put the wrong title on #8. I redid it as #9.

    Um, how can you have too much garlic? Seriously, only vampires would think there’s too much garlic. 😉

    Reply
  4. Hazel Moon says

    October 20, 2012 at 2:01 am

    I haven’t made a lentil soup (or dish) for ages. This sounds lovely for something that we would probably not have too often. Three Garlic cloves would be about right for us.
    Today my post is just about drink with a story and some good response about my book. No recipe this time.

    Reply
  5. SimplyDarlene says

    October 22, 2012 at 4:05 pm

    Lentils are a staple in this house. We do a similar recipe (add some basic taco seasoning and onions) and use it instead of beans for taco salad. I’ve only used blue french lentils – they are pretty hardy. Who knew there are so many varieties…

    Blessings.

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      October 22, 2012 at 4:59 pm

      I’ve done something like that before, but it’s been a while. This sounds like a nice idea for dinner this week!

      Reply

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