I had actually forgotten that I had those black lentils in the refrigerator. I bought them a while back at Trader Joes (sold already cooked in a vacuum-sealed package) and had planned to use them for something fancier, but never got around to it. A lack of time and increase of hunger prevailed and tossing together a quick pilaf won out.
The lentils teamed up nicely with other on-hand ingredients: cooked brown rice, chopped onion, garlic, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, a handful of frozen peas, some walnuts, and some seasonings. Within 15 minutes, a satisfying, tasty, and very colorful dinner was on the table.
In other news… A copy of 1000 Vegan Recipes is being given away this week on VegNews.com. Here’s the link — post a comment for your chance to win.
I recently did an author Q&A with Matt on his blog NoMeatAthlete. Check it out (along with the great photo of my Mac and Chard recipe).
Speaking of great photos, my irrepressible cat Gary couldn’t resist getting in this basket and we couldn’t resist snapping his photo. Cute, huh?
{ 4 comments… add one }
I didn't know there was such a thing as black lentils. Will have to give this a try!
Gary looks so snuggly!
I do love the black beluga lentil packages from Trader Joe's, but I've never used them in anything but soup. This sounds great.
Wendy: If you like lentils, you'll love the black ones. They'd small in size, have a great flavor, and add a dramatic contrast to other ingredients.
Ordinary Vegetarian: Gary is as snuggly as they come. He's so snuggly that his photo should be next to the word “snuggly” in the dictionary. In fact, one of our many nicknames for him is “Snuggle Bug.”
I'm still planning to get more of those black lentils to use in a more “beluga-like” way — maybe spooned onto roasted red beets that have been topped with a little vegan sour cream. Mmmm…
That looks like a splendid pilaf!