Carrot and Lentil Salad with Chickpeas and Feta

We had a potluck at work this past week which always gets me excited. The instant I hear about a potluck my mind goes into overdrive coming up with different options for what I might take. The first question is always, should I bring something savory or something sweet? My mind was filled with cupcakes, cookies, whoopie pies and macaroons, cinnamon rolls and brownies, but in the end I went with something savory this time. Since you never know what's going to show up at a potluck, it's always a good idea to bring something that you really like and wouldn't mind eating for lunch if the rest of the options are less than stellar. 

After a lot of thinking I decided to go with a lentil salad. Healthy, easy, and perfect to make ahead. In fact, this type of salad is actually better made ahead so it has time to sit overnight and let the flavors meld. A mix of both lentils and chickpeas sounded perfect along with some lightly roasted carrots, finished with feta and lots of lemon and herbs. Light and fresh and delicious. A definite winner and something to make again and again! 

For the carrots, I used my new gadget that I got for Christmas, a spiralizer! I have been eying them for so long, and this year my sister-in-law gave me one and it's been a lot of fun experimenting with. It was quick and easy to slice these carrots up into thin ribbons. I then roasted them for a short time to soften them up a bit, but not too long so that they started falling apart. It worked out really well for this salad. If you don't have a spiralizer you could either slice the carrots into thin matchsticks by hand, or do what I would do in that case and cut them into chunks and just roast for a lot longer until nice and tender. This would also work well in this salad. 

Don't skimp on the lemon and parsley, they're both key to a well balanced and fresh final product. It would be a little flat without them. And the feta, oh the feta, I could could add feta to just about everything I eat and be happy. It really makes this salad, and turns it into a full meal. Enjoy!

Carrot and Lentil Salad with Chickpeas and Feta
From Delectably Mine
Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 grams) dried chickpeas
• 1 cup (180 grams) dried green lentils
• 4 large carrots, spiralized 
• 1 green onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 red onion, sliced thin
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• 1-2 teaspoons honey
• 4 ounces feta cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

Directions: 
Cook both the lentils and the chickpeas in boiling water until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl.

While the legumes are cooking, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the carrots with a little olive oil and salt and roast for approximately 15 minutes until tender, yet still retain some bite and texture. Add the carrots to the bowl with the chickpeas and lentils. Add the green onion, red onion, lemon juice and lemon zest. Give everything a quick toss to combine. 

Preheat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and swirl around the pan. Add the garlic and let it cook for a minute or two until just starting to take on a little color. Watch it closely so it does not burn. Add the spices to the garlic oil and let them toast for 30-60 seconds until nice and fragrant. Remove pan from heat. 

Pour the oil and spice mixture over the salad, add the honey, and toss until everything is well combined. Let the salad cool slightly and then finish with the feta and parsley, tossing once again to combine everything. Can eat warm or at room temperature. The flavors improve as they sit so this is a good dish to make the night before and pull out of the fridge when ready. Let come to room temperature before eating. 

 

Gratin of Zucchini, Rice and Corn with Cheese

I was browsing through my Instagram feed earlier last week when I came across a photo for a zucchini rice casserole that for whatever reason just called to me. I went online to find the recipe and was happy to see that it was a very simple and a very healthy recipe. So when I went to the farmer's market on Saturday I picked up two large zucchini so I could whip this dish up over the weekend. I am a huge zucchini fan and usually end up just slicing it up into rounds or spears and grilling it. I liked that this dish gave me something else that I could do with zucchini if I am feeling ambitious. Not that it's a difficult dish by any means, but it's slightly more involved than slicing and grilling!

Of course, I couldn't leave the recipe alone so I decided to add my own twist and add in some freshly picked sweet corn that I also picked up at the farmer's market. I think zucchini + corn is one of the best late summer combos so I couldn't pass it up. I think it was a brilliant addition to the gratin! The tender zucchini mixed with the juicy and sweet corn is fantastic along with some salty parmesan and a couple little pats of butter. Fresh, healthy and delicious, this is a great late-summer winner!

On the blog where I got the recipe she used brown rice in this gratin as opposed to the white rice which is what the original recipe that she used called for. I went with the brown rice as well and parboiled it for 8 minutes as she said. I found that in the finished dish the rice was not quite tender so I would recommend upping the length of the parboil to 10-12 minutes, or alternatively, baking the casserole longer overall. I ended up baking it for 35 minutes and there was still quite a bit of liquid left over when I dug in. This extra liquid did not detract from the delicious flavors, but if you are looking for a finished product with less moisture I would bake it longer and/or add less liquid prior to baking.

Gratin of Zucchini, Rice and Corn with Cheese
Adapted from Sprouted Kitchen
Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds zucchini or other summer squash
• 2 ears corn
• 1/2 cup short grain brown rice 
• 1/2 onion, sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• about 2 1/2 cups warm zucchini juices
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Shred the zucchini in a food processor or with a box grater, toss with a heaping teaspoon of salt and drain in a colander. Reserving the juices. Meanwhile drop the rice into boiling salted water, bring rapidly back to a boil for 10-12 minutes; drain and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400'.

Cut the kernels off of the ears of corn. In a large oven-proof frying pan melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the corn, salt and pepper and cook over medium high heat until starting to brown. Remove corn from pan and set aside. 

Return the frying pan to heat. Add the 2 tablespoon olive oil and cook the onions with a little salt for 15-20 minutes, or longer, until tender and translucent and starting to brown. Stir in the grated and dried zucchini and the garlic. Let sit without stirring for a few minutes to start browning some of the zucchini. Then, toss for about 5 minutes until the zucchini is almost tender. Add the corn back to the pan. Sprinkle in the flour, stir over moderate heat for a minute and remove from the heat. 

Gradually stir in the 2-2 1/2 cups warm liquid (zucchini juices). Put the pan over moderately high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring. Remove from the heat again, stir in the blanched rice, 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan and 1 tablespoon butter. Taste carefully for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. 

Transfer frying pan to oven. Bake until the gratin is bubbling, top is browned and appears most of the liquid has absorbed, approximately 35-40 minutes, sprinkling with additional parmesan in the last 5 minutes if desired.

Baked Lentil Falafel

Quick. Easy. Healthy. Delicious. Those are all words I like to hear, especially when it comes to prepping meals for a busy week at work. These baked lentil falafel fit the bill perfectly. Now, I know, since they're baked, not fried, and made out of lentils, not chickpeas or fava beans, they really aren't falafel. But humor me here. It's the easiest way to describe these little patties. They have a little heat from a jalapeno, some spice with the cumin and coriander, and freshness from the herbs.  Throw it all in the food processor,  and process away! Shape, bake, eat, repeat. It's that easy! 

The original recipe for these little bites was just 5 or so ingredients long. A great base recipe from which you can improvise to your hearts content. I added a few extra flavorings because I couldn't help myself, but you can keep it simple if you like. I used my favorite seasonings of cumin and coriander, along with cilantro, parsley and mint. Probably my favorite combination of flavors, but try adding your own favorite spices and see what happens. I ate mine the first day on a chickpea flour wrap with garlicky kale and tahini. Yum! But I've also made sandwiches, topped salads, and dipped these little guys into yogurt for a quick snack. Go ahead, try something new!

Baked Lentil Falafel
Adapted from Pinch of Yum
Ingredients

• 2 cups (320-340 grams) cooked lentils*
• 1 cup cilantro
• 1 cup parsley
• 1/4 cup fresh mint (optional)
• half a jalapeño, leave the ribs and seeds if you like it spicy
• 1 green onion, coarsely chopped
• 1-1½ tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander
• 1-2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pulse all ingredients except flour in a food processor until combined. Stir in the flour - just one tablespoon at a time, until it's just dry enough to handle. Form into 10 or so patties and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove sheet from the oven and carefully flip each patty over. Return to oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Use however you would like; in salads, sandwiches, wraps, bowls, etc. They also freeze great, so you can whip up a batch and keep on hand for  a quick meal any time. 

*I was using up the rest of the lentils I had in the pantry. The dry weight was 140 grams which ended up being 340 grams cooked. When I weighed out 2 cups it was 320 grams, but I only had an additional 20 grams of lentils so I just threw them in too! So it doesn't need to be exact. 

Asparagus Vichyssoise

When the asparagus starts showing up at the farmer's market every year I know I have made it. Spring has (un)officially arrived and warmer weather is on the way. Now it's the middle of June and I've been buying asparagus almost every week at the farmer's market. It's been great!! This past week I decided to try something new with my asparagus, something I've never done before - making a vichyssoise. Of course I was familiar with the name vichyssoise, and I had a vague sense of what this soup was, but until this past week I couldn't have really defined it exactly. Well now I know!

I was excited to try this asparagus vichyssoise first of all because I love asparagus, and second of all because it gave me another opportunity to use my new favorite kitchen toy, a new Vitamix blender! I used some graduation money to splurge on a Vitamix a few weeks ago and have been loving it! It was the perfect tool to make this smooth and creamy soup. So, what I now know about vichyssoise is that it is traditionally a creamy potato leek leak soup that is eaten cold. This was basically that with the wonderful addition of asparagus. There is just a tiny bit of cream and a little Greek yogurt to help make it really nice and creamy with just a bit of tang from the yogurt. A wonderfully healthy and light soup for a hot spring day. 

This is a very simple recipe that does not require a lot of hands on time. All you really need to do is cut up a few veggies, throw them in a pot with some stock and let them cook for a good 40-50 minutes. Then blend away until very smooth with some cream and yogurt and move to the fridge to get nice and chilled. You can garnish with some extra shaved asparagus or a little dollop of cream or yogurt, or a drizzle of olive oil, whatever sounds good to you. I have no doubt you will enjoy this delicious and refreshing spring soup.  

Asparagus Vichyssoise
Adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
Ingredients

• 1 leek
• 1/2 pound asparagus
• 1 small potato, peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cream
• 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
• 40g samphire
• Grated zest of ½ lemon

Directions
Peel the potato and dice roughly. Chop off and discard the tough green ends of the leeks. Cut through the pale center, then wash well and slice roughly. Trim off and discard the woody base of the asparagus. Cut all but two of the spears into 3/4-inch pieces, keeping the tips separate. Reserve whole spears.

Place the vegetables, except for the asparagus tips and reserved whole spears, with the butter in a medium saucepan and sauté on medium heat for about 4 minutes; make sure they don’t take on any color. Cover the vegetables with the stock and add the sugar and some salt and white pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 40 minutes. At the end of this time add the asparagus tips and continue cooking for 10 minutes.

Once done, blitz the soup well in a blender until very smooth. Gently fold in the cream and half the yogurt. Allow the soup to come to room temperature, then chill.

While the soup is cooling down, bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the reserved asparagus for 2 minutes; drain and refresh under plenty of cold water. Shred.

Pour the chilled soup into bowls and serve with a dollop of yogurt swirled in and topped with the shredded asparagus and lemon zest if desired. 

Black Bean Burgers

I still have one more post to put up with pictures from my trip to Europe, but first a little detour back into recipe-land. Since it is Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer I thought a burger recipe was fitting. While it's not a real burger, this still a great meal idea to keep in your back pocket for days when meat is not on the menu. I saw this recipe recently while watching an episode of America's Test Kitchen online and I knew I had to make it soon. 

I really like a good veggie/bean burger and so was very happy to see that this recipe was actually quite simple and used ingredients that I almost always have on hand.  So often it seems that veggie burgers have a million ingredients, several of which I don't usually keep at home so I was happy about this.  All I had to do was soak a pot of beans and make a quick stop to the store to pick up some cilantro and I was all set to whip up a batch of these delicious and versatile black bean burgers. If you're looking for a simple recipe to cure that (veggie) burger craving give this one a try. It's sure to be a winner, it certainly was in my house. 

These burgers have good flavor and a good texture. They did not turn out "mushy" like so many veggie burgers, but were nice and firm and held together well. I also made a little chipotle yogurt sauce using canned chipotles in adobo mixed with a little Greek yogurt. You can always use mayo instead of the yogurt, that is what they did on the show. I topped the burgers with this sauce and a few slices of avocado and it was delicious. I think a  nice slice of cheddar cheese would also be wonderful. 

These burgers are great to make ahead for a quick meal when you don't have a lot of time to cook. Full of spices and aromatics, the prep work is done so you don't need to spend time chopping and adding flavor on a busy night. Just grab a pre-made patty and you're set. Great as a burger, but also in a wrap, on a tortilla, broken into chunks and mixed with a little yogurt or sour cream as a black bean version of chicken salad, or used to top a pizza. These little guys are versatile and delicious, if you've never made a black bean burger before, this is the place to start. 

Black Bean Burgers
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen
Ingredients

• 1 can black beans, or 4 1/2 ounces dried black beans boiled until tender (about 1 1/2 cups total, cooked)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 scallions, sliced thinly
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped finely
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon coarse cornmeal
• Cheese, avocado, sprouts for topping (optional)

Directions
Line a baking sheet with a couple of layers of paper towels. Drain and rinse black beans lay in an even layer on the paper towels. Set aside to dry for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, whisk the egg. Add the flour and whisk until no more lumps are visible.  Add the scallions, cilantro, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Set aside. 

Place the bread crumbs, cornmeal, and beans in a food processor. Pulse 5-6 times until a coarse mixture forms. It should be fairly dry. Add the bean mixture to the bowl with the egg mixture. Stir to combine everything evenly. It will be fairly wet. 

Place bean mixture in the fridge for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours, to firm up. When ready to form patties, shape mixture into 4 uniform size round patties of even thickness. 

Heat a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Place the patties in the frying pan and cook on one side until golden brown, 6-8 minutes. Flip patties with a spatula and cook on second side for another 6-8 minutes or until well browned. Remove from pan. Serve with your favorite toppings. 

Chipotle Quinoa Sweet Potato Tacos with Roasted Cranberry Salsa

This dinner idea combines some of my all-time favorite ingredients into one fabulous dish. Quinoa, sweet potatoes, and black beans come together with a few spices, some tomatoes, and spicy chipotles. It's a super healthy dish, just look at those ingredients! All this piled onto a warm corn tortilla and topped with a tart and sweet cranberry salsa and a creamy avocado makes a fantastic meat-free dinner option that I don't know who could dislike. 

This is a great option to make ahead and eat throughout the week for a quick dinner or lunch. It's the type of meal that only gets better with time (to a point of course!). You could also throw the taco filling on top of some brown rice or hearty greens, or throw it in a pita or flour tortilla for a different take on dinner if you don't like eating the exact same thing night after night. 

There are a few different steps in this recipe, and while none of them are at all difficult, they do take just a little bit of prep-work. Cooking the quinoa, prepping the sweet potato, cooking the black beans and making the salsa can all be done ahead though which would streamline the process later on. Also, go ahead an grab a can of black beans if you don't have the time or the inclination to cook up some dried beans.

Whatever you do, don't skip the salsa! It is the perfect tart complement to the spicy tacos, something different than the traditional tomato salsa. Take a few extra minutes and whip it together. The original recipe for the salsa called for pomegranate arils to be thrown in after the cranberries are done roasting. While I am sure this is delicious, and would have liked to try it, pomegranate season must be over. There was not one to be seen at the grocery store when I was shopping. All I could find was a tiny little jar of arils for something like $5 which just isn't worth it my book! So if you can find them for a reasonable price I'd say go for it, but even without the salsa is still perfectly delicious. 

Chipotle Quinoa Sweet Potato Tacos
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Ingredients

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 a small onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 large sweet potato, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 canned chipotle chilies, minced
• 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the chipotle can)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1  - 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
• Corn tortillas, warmed
• Diced avocado, for topping
• Shredded sharp cheddar cheese, for topping

Directions
Heat the olive oil over a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and let the onions cook for 5-10 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add the sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Add a little water to the skillet and let cook until the sweet potatoes are fork tender, but not mushy, stirring once or twice, about 15 minutes, adding more water if needed.

Once the sweet potatoes are fork tender, add the garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add the spices and let cook until fragrant, making sure they don't burn. Stir everything together well and then increase the heat to medium-high (adding more oil if needed) and add the quinoa. Let the quinoa cook and get crispy for about 5 minutes, trying not to stir too much.

Next, add 3/4 cup water, tomatoes, the chili powder, chipotle chilies, adobo sauce, smoked paprika, cumin, brown sugar and cayenne, stir to thoroughly combine and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the water has evaporated and the chili is at your desired consistency. If it starts to get too dry you can add more water.

Remove from the heat and stir in the black beans, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and the lime juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve with tortillas, avocado, cheddar cheese and roasted cranberry salsa (recipe follows).

Roasted Cranberry Salsa
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 canned chipotle chili, chopped
• 1 lime, zested + juiced
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 jalapeño, chopped, seeds removed if desired for less spicy salsa
• Pomegranate arils (optional)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the cranberries, brown sugar, chipotle chili, lime zest and juice, garlic, jalapeño and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Use your hands or a large spoon to toss everything together until evenly mixed. Transfer to baking sheet. Place in the oven and roast until the cranberries burst and release their juices, 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and and let cool. Add in the pomegranate arils if using and taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired. Set aside and keep at room temperature. Can be made in advance, store in the refrigerator until needed. 

Lemon Herb Baked Tofu

I love experimenting with new foods and trying out new things in the kitchen all the time. That's what keeps things interesting and fun. Up until recently, tofu was something I wanted to try (I think I'd had it once, or maybe twice, before), but since I'd hardly ever used it in the past, I just never got around to picking up a package. Finally, I forced myself to buy a pound of it at the store and find something to do with it. 

To start, I wanted to do something simple, and something with which I could really taste the tofu, and get an idea of what its texture was like. I started with some extra firm tofu because it sounded the most versatile to me. After browsing through pages of recipes I settled on baked tofu with a simple lemon herb marinade, I figured this would give me the freedom to use the tofu in many different applications. The verdict? I liked it. Very easy to make and many options once it's done cooking; as a snack, on top of pasta, in a stir fry, on a sandwich, you get the idea. We'll see where this goes in the future, but FYI, I just finished off another package yesterday...

I've always heard that tofu takes on the flavors of whatever you cook it with, and that was certainly true in this case. The dominant flavors in this recipe were the lemon and the soy sauce. I could sense an underlying flavor from the tofu itself, but for the most part the marinade is what really came through.

There are some many different options for marinades floating around online, so if lemon herb isn't up your ally, there are many other combinations to try. But the bake instructions should be pretty much the same. All together a very easy recipe that leaves you with plenty of options in the end. It might be worth a try, if you've never picked up a package of tofu before, I highly recommend at least trying it once. You never know what you're missing until you try!

Lemon Herb Tofu
Adapted from The Gentlemanly Tomato
Ingredients

• 1 cake firm tofu (about 16 oz)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• A couple sprigs each of thyme and rosemary
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced

Directions
Press tofu between a couple sheets of paper towel topped with a heavy pan for about 30 minutes. Discard paper towels and cut tofu into bite sized pieces. 

While tofu is being pressed, whisk together all marinade ingredients in a glass dish. Add the pressed tofu and gently mix to cover everything with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30-60 minutes. 

Line a baking sheet with foil. Transfer the tofu and any remaining marinade onto the baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. 

Simple Quinoa and Cheddar Polenta with Kale
From Delectably Mine
Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) water
• Pinch salt
• 3 tablespoons (27 grams) cornmeal
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 1-2 handfuls kale, ripped or cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1/2 ounce cheddar cheese, broken into pieces
• Lemon herb tofu (recipe above)

Directions
Put the water and salt in a small skillet and heat until boiling. Once boiling, slowly pour in the cornmeal while continuously whisking. Turn the heat back on low and cook until starting to get thick, whisking frequently.

Once the cornmeal mixture starts to thicken up, add in the quinoa and torn up pieces of kale and whisk together. If the mixture becomes too thick, add some more water as needed. 

Once everything is mixed together, add in the butter and cheddar cheese, whisking until melted and completely incorporated into the mixture. 

Top polenta with lemon herb tofu and enjoy!

Red Lentils and Spinach in Masala Sauce

It's been a cold and rainy weekend here so far - fall has definitely arrived. With the falling temperatures and the cloudy skies I have been craving warm and comforting foods. This recipe for red lentils in a masala sauce fits the bill perfectly. Tender red lentils in a thick and spicy tomato sauce finished off with spinach, cilantro and coconut milk. This may not be your traditional fall dish, but why not give something new a try. It's healthy and delicious, perfect for curling up on the couch with and listening to the rain falling. 

I had to adjust the original recipe to fit the ingredients I had on hand and it turned out deliciously. It's not a difficult dish at all. Once you mix up your spice mixture all you need to do is sauté some onions and garlic, add the spices followed by tomatoes and lentils and cook until the flavors have melded and the lentils are tender. Red lentils tend to turn to mush when cooked, but for this recipe you keep an eye on them and finish the dish before they completely disintegrate. Finished it off with a few handfuls of spinach and some creamy and delicious coconut milk. Spoon into a bowl over rice, or eat on it's own like a stew. It's filling and satisfying in whatever form you choose.

Red Lentils and Spinach in Masala Sauce
Adapted from Naturally Ella
Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon garam marsala
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1⁄3 cup packed cilantro leaves ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14 ounce can whole (or diced) tomatoes
• 1/2 can full fat, unsweetened full fat coconut milk
• 1 cup (~190 grams) red lentils
• 3-4 handfuls spinach 

Directions
In a small bowl, mix together the cumin, coriander, ginger, cayenne, paprika, garam marsala and salt. Set aside.

In a large skillet or sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent and just beginning to brown, 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in the spice mixture and stir to coat the onions. Add the tomato paste and stir again to evenly mix. Cook for a few minutes to heat the spices and tomato paste, then add in the tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir together and bring to a boil. 

Add in lentils and cilantro leaves and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring often (they tend to stick to the bottom of the pan), until lentils are tender, 20-­25 minutes. Fold in spinach and then remove the pan from heat.

Garnish with more cilantro, and a dollop of Greek yogurt.