Luscious Leftover Lentils
Sorry that image is so orange. It’s the yellow plate. My white ones were in the dishwasher.
This is a whole food, plant-based recipe that doesn’t use oil, added salt, or refined white flours or sugars.
A Luscious Use for Leftover Lentils
When I cook lentils, rice, or beans, I always cook double the amount I need for the recipe. It just makes sense. Then I have something I can do quickly, when times get tight, and believe me, my friends, holy Moses already, have times become tight. This is the week I started classes, full time, in addition to, you know life and existing multi-pronged vocations. What was I thinking, again?
Anyway, having leftovers is the best thing in the whole universe to me right now. So my tip of the week is this: whatever you cook, cook a lot. It’ll keep in the fridge for at least a week. Consider it a gift to your future self.
Anyway, I had leftover lentils, and I wondered if I could make them into a burger, as I had done with chickpeas, among other things. However, bean-based burgers are always a little big to bearlike in the middle, in my opionated opinion. So I decided to do a crumbled version instead of a patty.
I give this one a chef’s kiss!
Lentil “Ground Leaf”
(What? I didn’t want to say “beef,” and it had to rhyme!)
Ingredients
1 cup cooked red lentils
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon tamari
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt *optional
Additional Ingredients to serve as shown:
1 red or green bell pepper (or 1/2 of each,) sliced
1 red onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 loaf whole grain, oil free French bread (get as close as possible. Perfection’s overrated.)
1 tomato, sliced
Mixed kale, spinach, lettuce, arugula or greens of your choice, shredded
Noochie (Nutritional yeast) optional
Method
Mix all ingredients with very clean hands, while a good frying pan heats, with the setting just above medium (on my stove anyway.) We don’t want get the pan hot enough damage it, but we want it hot enough to sizzle, so we can get a nice browning and crisping.
Once the pan is hot enough that a drop of water dances, crumble in the mixture. Let it sit, do not stir. Let it take its time.
After it’s starting to get a little crispy on one side, go ahead and move it around, flip and stir and then leave it alone for a couple more minutes, and so on. It will get as crispy as you want it, honestly. I think I’d cook mine a little less, but I was surprised how crispy it could get!
Cook until it’s as “done” as you like, and then use it in whatever recipe you have in mind.
Serving Suggestion
Lentil Sub
Shown above
I made some marinated mushrooms (they’re part of the recipe at the link) to go with this, and I did an oil-free sauté of red onions, red and green bell peppers, and freshly minced garlic.
While those were cooking, I put open-sliced French bread into the oven to get crispy. My oven has an air fry setting and rack that are perfect for that, but there will be crumbs in the oven!
I lined the crispy, warm French bread with shredded mixed greens, then a layer of the lentil-burger, then a layer of the onion-pepper mix, and then a layer of the mushrooms, and finally a few slices of fresh, raw tomato.
Garnish
I probably sprinkled a little noochie on top of mine. I usually do. (B12!)
Enjoy!