I love onions. When I lived in Germany, I'd sometimes saute a sliced onion with a couple cloves of garlic and eat it on a toasted baguette. My roommates thought I was The One Poor American, and therefore kept trying to kindly slip meat into my food for fear I'd starve to death.
- 1 pound brown lentils
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 small red onion
- 1 cup peeled pearl onions
- 2 leeks
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tbsp basil
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Meanwhile, dice the onions into different sized chunks for texture variation. Personally, I dice the red onion pretty fine, the yellow onion into larger chunks, and the white portion of the leeks into broad strips. Throw away the green portion of the leeks.
Bring a skillet to medium heat. Add the olive oil and all your onions (including the peeled pearl onions). Saute until the the onions start to turn translucent. Now press or dice all the garlic and add it in as well. Stir heartily and continue to cook until some of the onions just start to caramelize. Don't worry that a lot will still be translucent. They're different sizes and types. They're supposed to cook at different rates.
Now add the rest of the spices. Stir well so your onions are thoroughly coated.
Hopefully, your stock is now boiling. (If not, take the onions off the heat until the vegetable broth boils.) Add your pound of lentils to the boiling broth and stir well. Now dump in your onion mix. Try to scrape any lingering spices and such out of your skillet.
Once the mix is boiling again, give it another good stir. Now cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. If your pot is prone to boiling over, leave a tiny crack for steam to escape.
Stir once every half an hour. It should take about 2 hours for the lentils to fully cook.
Serve with a hearty brown bread. On the second day, it'll be thick enough to serve on top of cooked rice for a complete protein in one meal.
No comments:
Post a Comment