Category Archives: Recipes

What We’re Reading: Healthy Eating and Recipes

What we're reading at the USA Dry Pea & Lentil CouncilHere’s what we’re reading this week:

Pulses: Healthy potential – but still challenging for the American palate
Pulses – dry peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans – have gained in popularity, but they’re still not on the radar of many US consumers. Pulses are healthy alternatives and have a lot of potential as ingredients such as flours, flakes and fractionated into protein, fiber and starches.

Apple Cinnamon Swirl Pie {with chickpea flour}
This looks crazy delicious! It’s a clever twist on apple pie packaged in a simple recipe.

Utah is a hub for growing gluten-free industry
The gluten-free section at the grocery store is expanding, and New Grains Gluten-Free Bakery is a part of the growing trend.

Rustic Tuscan Chickpea Soup
It may be summer-type temperatures across the rest of the country, but here in the northwest we’re still in early spring/late winter mode so soup is still on the menu.

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Chili Lentil Topping for Baked Potatoes

Chili Lentil Topping for Baked Potatoes

Think cooking with lentils requires diving into recipes you’ve never tried before? Wrong! Lentils are an incredibly versatile ingredient if you stop thinking they can only be used in lentil recipes.

The other night I tossed a baked potato into the oven. I don’t know about you, but a baked potato isn’t worth eating if it isn’t smothered in toppings. Whipping up a quick batch of chili lentils proved to be the perfect topping for my supper.

This is a simple dish to make. Baking a potato takes awhile in the oven, and the chili lentils took about 20 minutes to make. You could speed up meal prep by baking your potato in a microwave if you aren’t feeding too many mouths.

My (very) unscientific recipe included:

  • Lentils – about a quarter cup dry. Cover with twice the amount of water, bring to a boil and then simmer until tender. Drain completely and then pour a little water back on the lentils; return to burner.
  • Onion – sautéed in a separate pan and add to cooked lentils.
  • Tomato – chopped and add to cooked lentils.
  • Seasonings – Use whatever you like and add to cooked lentils. I’m notorious for foraging through my spice drawer and throwing in whatever sounds good. This means I sometimes have a dish that tastes really great, sometimes a little funky and almost always that I never remember what seasonings I used. Chili powder was on the list, of course.

Stir on low heat, allowing the spices to permeate the lentil, onion and tomato mixture. Add water if necessary. You don’t want this to be too dry, but you also don’t want rivers of chili making mountains out of your baked potato.

Top your baked potato with a generous helping of chili lentils, sour cream, cheese, olives – all the ingredients that make a baked potato into a feast!

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