Lentil bowl

Veg and beans

By Kim Carlson

October 6, 2008

Sensing on a cellular level the change in the weather (or maybe it was the economy), I went to the kitchen the other day craving something warm and comforting, but not too rich. It didn’t take long to decide on lentils.

I love them simple, with rice, and I love them embellished, with vinegar or sausage. With the Veg Challenge in mind, though, this time I decided on lentils with vegetables.

A warm bowl of lentils and veg on a chilly day.

Last year, Helen Rennie taught us all to make better lentils. I started with Helen’s recipe for Basic Lentils, cooking them slowly in a pot, no lid. Separately, I sautéed a chopped onion and some rounds of pale yellow heirloom carrots that look like parsnips but taste like the sweetest, most carroty carrot you can imagine.

I added a cup or two of vegetable broth to the lentils, then tossed in the carrots. Finally, I threw in some chunks of fingerling potatoes that I had cooked a day or two earlier.

If I’d had kale or spinach, I would have sautéed that and thrown it in too, but for a bit of green, I had to content myself with chopped cilantro — which, in the end, wasn’t a sacrifice at all.

Everyone in the house loved this lunch. Simple and tasty, it was best kind.