Red lentils: how to cook? Video
Lentils are small oval beans that range in color from yellow to dark green to brown. All types of lentils are extremely nutritious, this product has a long shelf life, is rich in vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Red lentils are a representative of the yellow variety, devoid of a shell. Due to this processing, the cooking time is minimized, and it does not need to be pre-soaked.
This delicious homemade red lentil soup is flavorful and thick. If you cook it in vegetable broth, it is suitable for vegetarians, while losing weight will please with its low calorie content. For 6 servings you will need:
– 2 tablespoons of olive oil; – 1 head of onion; – 1 stalk of celery; – 2 medium carrots; – 2 minced garlic cloves; – 1/2 teaspoon of salt; 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme – 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; – 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth; – 1 and 1/4 cups red lentils; – 400 g cherry tomatoes; – 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar.
Peel the onion and cut into small cubes. Chop the celery, rinse the carrots, dry and grate on a coarse grater. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic over medium heat for 12-15 minutes. Cut the tomatoes into cubes, rinse the lentils under running cold water.
Once the vegetables are golden brown add salt, dried thyme and black pepper, stir, heat for a minute and pour in broth. Place the chopped tomatoes, washed lentils in the soup and bring to a boil, then lower the temperature. Simmer the chowder, covered, for 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are tender. In a blender bowl, puree 1 and 3/4 cups of apple cider vinegar soup, pour the puree into the stew, stir and heat. This soup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Lentils, like many legumes, are rich in iron, fiber, and folate. Unfortunately, due to processing, red lentils contain fewer nutrients than untreated varieties.
Spicy lentils with sausage
To prepare red lentils with hot sausages, take: – 50 g of hot chili poblano; – 100 g of ham; – 1 ½ cups of red lentils; – 2 teaspoons of olive oil; – 200 g of spicy sausages; – salt and black pepper.
Place the hot peppers on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until the skin turns black. Put the hot peppers in a tight plastic bag with a zip fastener and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Peel the stalk, skin and seeds of the pepper and cut into small cubes.
While the pepper is cooking, rinse the lentils, cut the ham into cubes, sand the sausage and cut into slices about 0,5 centimeters wide. Place lentils in a saucepan, cover with two glasses of water and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Fry the ham and sausages in olive oil. When almost all the water from the lentils has evaporated, add pepper, sausage and ham to it, season with salt and pepper. Stir, heat and serve with spicy parsley.