lentils- I enjoy them at a restaurant, recipes for home?

local Lebanese restaurant (Athena) serves free lentil soup with your meal. I was so impressed with the taste and flavor that I bought some red lentils from their grocery section and made it myself. I puree'd it to make it smoother. Here is a link as you can improvise. I added more cumin and coriander for my taste Lentil Soup recipe

I too, love lentils. I used to buy the canned ones and just season them on up. But check these pouches from Tasty Bite. They are great, and one minute in the microwave ready to go.



https://a.co/d/8gYhCRD

I have not tried any recipes with them, but Americas Test Kitchen/ Cooks Country had an episode about lentils and every recipe looked great. You have to pay for the ATK website and I can tell you that is worth it.

We love a lentil salad over here. Been making this one lately.
LINK

I have two vegetarians in the house, so I cook a lot of lentils. They're super versatile and they're often my goto for cleaning out the fridge or pantry. Bittman's spanish style lentils are one of our favorites. Recipe

The main thing is that they often take quite a bit more liquid than you might originally think, so be sure to taste for tenderness and add more liquid to cook longer if necessary. We almost always top all of our lentil recipes with yogurt.

Besides the Bittman above, I often make one that's more Indian style and use coconut milk, can of diced tomatoes, curry powder, etc.. in place of the red wine and trinity. Don't be afraid to add some other vegetables in as well. We cube sweet potatoes and toss in to cook with them often for a little variety in texture and for additional heartiness. If you divert from brown lentils and jump into red lentils, be aware that they cook much more quickly and can become a paste/mush before you know it (but they're awesome)

There are also lots of good cold lemony lentil salad recipes out there that are fantastic.

To anyone who hasn’t tried mujadara at a greek/Lebanese place, I highly advise it. Lentils, rice, and sautéed onions combined. I always sub this instead of white rice when ordering a combo plate.

Sausage & Lentil Soup
Ingredients
* 1 lb Italian sausage
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 2 large carrots, chopped
* 6 cups chicken broth
* 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
* 2 -3 garlic cloves
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups dry lentils
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon dried parsley
* 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
1. Brown sausage; drain off fat.
2. In a large pot combine all ingredients bring to boil.
3. Reduce heat,cover.
4. Simmer for about 1 hour or until lentils are tender. Add water if necessary, for desired consistency. I like to puree about 1 cup of the soup and add back to pot to give it a thicker consistency.
5. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Here is a my version of a fairly simple lentil recipe from ATK that I made last weekend.

Be sure to use red lentils rather than green or brown for this recipe. The red ones are very tender and cook quickly.

It's a stretch to call this kibbeh, but it is good and healthy.

Red Lentil Kibbeh

Serves 4 to 6

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 onion, chopped fine
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons harissa
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 cup medium-grind bulgur
4 cups water
¾ cup dried red lentil, picked over and rinsed
½ cup chopped fresh parsley (and/or cilantro, which I preferred)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 head Bibb or leaf lettuce (about 8 ounces) or pita, for serving
½ cup Greek yogurt
Lemon wedges

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large saucepan (5.5 quart Dutch oven works well) over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, bell pepper, and salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in harissa, tomato paste, and cayenne and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir in bulgur and water and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently until bulgur is barely tender, about 8 minutes.

Stir in lentils, cover, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils and bulgur are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Off heat, lay clean dish towel underneath lid and let pot sit for 10 minutes to soak up some of the excess water.

Stir in 1 tablespoon good quality olive oil, parsley and/or cilantro, and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a drizzle of more good quality olive oil. Spoon kibbeh into lettuce leaves and drizzle with yogurt, or scoop with toasted pita (rounds work well) and yogurt. Serve with lemon wedges and more fresh cilantro.