Lentils can be a little daunting when you’re not just using them for tasty soup. When cooking they can turn on you pretty quickly and become the consistency of baby food. Be sure to read the process instructions below before you start the recipe and I hope it helps. Once you get confident, you’ll be cooking them all the time as they make a great palette for many different flavor traditions.

An excellent source of protein, lentils are very inexpensive – you can buy them bulk or in a 1 pound cello bag for under a dollar. Ounce for ounce, lentils contain as much protein as steak and tons more fiber.

Prep Time: 15 minutes / Cook Time: 30 Minutes / Refrigeration Time: 2 hours

2 cups lentils

2 tsp salt

1 medium onion stuck with 2 or 3 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp thyme

½ cup olive oil

1 ½ cup of finely sliced green onion

¼ finely chopped bell pepper (red or orange works nice here)

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

4 Tbps white wine or apple cider vinegar

1 ½ tsp black pepper

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Put the lentils in a pot and add water to cover by about 1”. Add the salt, clove stabbed onion, along with the bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low and cover. It’s kinda like you’re cooking rice, but you’re going to want to check and stir them about every 5 minutes. Not a violent stir, just fold them over and quickly recover the pot. Simmer this way until the lentils are just tender, but still firm. About 30 minutes. As with beans, test a couple to make sure – just one lentil could be lying to you.

You’re going to have some liquid left over but that’s cool – drain well, remove the plugged onion (say ‘thank you’ and discard), and transfer the lentils to a large bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the olive oil and again, fold them over to mix. Let cool, but not completely, then add the rest of the ingredients and the remaining olive oil, but just half the parsley. Toss gently to mix.

Put in the refrigerator and let it rest and cool for at least an hour.

When serving, add the remaining chopped parsley and grind a little more black pepper over the top and add a little extra olive oil if needed…a squeeze of lemon here wouldn’t be bad either.

Enjoy!