A dish of spiced stewed lentils certainly cannot be missing at New Year’s Eve; tradition says they bring good luck for our pockets… So long live lentils!
Could I have limited myself to preparing just the lentils with a little sauce? No, certainly not. I love lentils paired with Indian spices; for me it’s a perfect match. Of course, if you don’t like these spices you can omit them entirely, but in the quantities indicated they work very well and the taste remains very delicate: give them a try.
Prepared this way they are very light, only one teaspoon of oil, so on New Year’s Eve you can enjoy a and wish for a prosperous new year! They are truly delicious and also perfect to pair with a slice (just a “slice”, please!) of cotechino or zampone or, if you want to make a vegan dish you can make lentil patties like these:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons, New Year's Eve
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried lentils (preferably one of the small brown varieties)
- 1 carrot (small)
- 1 stalk celery (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons curry powder (homemade following the link or store-bought)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin (more or less to taste)
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- to taste salt
- Points per serving = 4 WW points
Preparation
First of all, boil the lentils as indicated on the package. In my case I used a small variety of lentils that did not require soaking. So I rinsed them, covered them with cold water and boiled them for about 20 minutes. I added the salt at the end and all the water was absorbed; otherwise it’s good to drain them and keep a little of the cooking water.
Place the sliced garlic, diced carrot and celery, the curry, the cumin and the teaspoon of oil in a nonstick pan or pot. In the photos there is no celery because I didn’t have it at home, but it’s great in this dish: add it.
Let the flavors meld for a few minutes, then add the tomato paste. Cook for another couple of minutes, stirring often, then add the lentils and some of their cooking water. Stir and let the flavors develop for about 5 minutes. Salt if necessary and add the finely chopped parsley.
And here our spiced stewed lentils are ready. They look beautiful with the orange of the carrots on the serving plate, even more colorful with sprigs of fresh parsley as a garnish…
How good they are, especially thanks to the Indian spices. They are sweet and fragrant, ideal for New Year’s Eve but also for every other day. They are excellent served hot just cooked but also at room temperature.
I love lentils, which are well suited to preparing many light dishes. And they are so easy to make.
Enjoy and happy new year to all!
by Giovanna Buono
