While some fabulously organized folks celebrate Meatless Mondays or Taco Tuesdays, my family enjoys less alliterative, but accurately named, Clean Out the Pantry Dinners, which are only slightly sexier than our other theme night, Cold Cereal Saturdays. These meals are my way of rebranding the 5:30 p.m. scramble to make something tasty and healthy when I’m out of time and ideas. The key to a successful Clean Out the Pantry Dinner, obviously, is a well-stocked pantry. And when it comes to pantry items, dried lentils are our best friends.
Lentils are really inexpensive, particularly when purchased in the bulk-foods section of your grocery. These little legumes are fiber and protein powerhouses, which means they can satisfy my super-hungry teenage boys. And lentils are versatile, adding nutrition to everything from soups to salads to stews. If lentils have a downside, it’s that the green and black varieties can take up to 40 minutes to cook, which, some nights, feels as unreasonable as a 10-course gourmet meal. So I often grab split red lentils, long a staple in Indian cuisine, which cook as quickly as 15 minutes.
Dried red lentils are sold as “whole” and “split.” For this recipe, choose the split red lentils, which don’t have their skins and cook extra fast. Now, some grocery stores sell prepared green lentils in the refrigerator section. The green lentils will hold their shape, making lovely salads and soups for a Clean Out the Refrigerator Dinner. But this recipe works best if you use the red lentils, even though you need to cook them, because the red lentils break down into a gently mushy texture that is the epitome of comfort food.
Once your lentils are simmering, paw through your spice cabinet for seasonings. I like the simplicity of curry powder, a blend of several different spices in one jar. If curry powder isn’t a staple in your kitchen, do not purchase it for just this recipe. Instead, throw in pinches of individual spices like turmeric or saffron for color, sweet cloves, earthy cardamom and licorice-ish fenugreek. And add cumin, lots and lots of citrusy cumin. Unless you don’t like or have cumin, in which case forget I ever mentioned it and move on. Above all, Clean Out the Pantry Night should be easy and low stress.
The other ingredients in this recipe are equally flexible and accommodating. Don’t have diced tomatoes? Substitute a can of crushed tomatoes or even tomato puree. I keep fresh spinach around because I add it to my morning smoothie (true story). If you don’t, any leafy green, fresh or frozen, will add iron and color to your curry. I’m a big fan of fresh cilantro, but if cilantro tastes like soap to you, use parsley as a garnish instead. And if you have the time and inclination, get an extra serving of vegetables by adding carrots, celery or peas when you saute the onions.
Serve Lentil Curry with your favorite in-stock carb, like basmati rice or naan bread. If your family thinks you need meat to make a meal complete, add chicken breasts cooked with a little lemon juice and olive oil, or shredded rotisserie chicken. Then sit back and enjoy the fact that you whipped up a creative, flavor-packed meal using just what you have on hand. And at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow, you can rise to the same challenge all over again.
Lentil Curry
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup dried split red lentils, rinsed and picked through
1 (14.5-ounce) can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves, packed
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion until it’s soft, approximately 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds. Add the broth, lentils, tomatoes, curry powder, cumin and cayenne pepper. Stir, bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot with a lid that is tilted to allow the steam to escape. Let the curry simmer for 10 minutes. Add the spinach, stir, and return the tilted lid, cooking an additional 5-10 minutes more until the lentils are soft. Stir in the lemon juice and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve Lentil Curry over cooked basmati rice, couscous, or with naan bread. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro. Serves 2-4.
Per serving, based on 2 servings: 581 calories (percent of calories from fat, 26), 47 grams protein, 77 grams carbohydrates, 34 grams fiber, 20 grams fat (2 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 399 milligrams sodium.
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