Greek Lentil Salad Vinaigrette (gluten free)

Here is a simple take on Greek salad.  It comes together quickly and can be the hit at your next family or office pot-luck.  The lentils pack a lot of vegetable protein, complex carbohydrate, fibre, potassium, B vitamins and iron.  Substitute any cooked bean of your choice such as chickpeas or a can of mixed beans for the lentils.  I have even made it with cooked wild rice and everyone loved it.  


The original recipe is from Pulse Canada.  Visit their website for lots of good ideas and recipes for cooking and baking with legumes or pulses (=beans, peas and lentils).  Legumes have lots of health benefits.  They point out that  "studies have shown that consuming pulses can benefit people with diabetes. As a good source of complex carbohydrates, pulses have a low glycemic index which means they keep blood sugars from rising too quickly after eating."  They are gluten free too and a great source of iron for people that run low on this vital nutrient.  If you want to learn more about legume nutrition and how-to-cook them visit my earlier post Lesson in Legumes.


Nutrition Tip: Running canned beans/lentils under cold water to rinse and then leaving to drain for a few minutes can reduce the sodium content of canned legumes by as much as 40%. That's pretty good!


INGREDIENTS:

Imperial	Metric Measure	Ingredients
2 cup	500 ml	Lentils, brown, cooked, drained
½ cup	125 ml	Onion, diced
2 cup	500 ml	Tomatoes, fresh, diced
1each	1	Green or red pepper, diced
½	½	Cucumber,  English cut in quarters lengthwise and then sliced (21 cm)
¼ cup	60 ml	Parsley, fresh, minced
2 Tbsp	30 ml	Olive oil, extra virgin
3 Tbsp	45 ml	Lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1 cup	250 ml	Feta, crumbled (about 175 grams)
1 Tbsp	15 ml	Oregano, leaf, dry
½ tsp	2.5 ml	Black pepper, freshly ground

METHOD:

1.  Rinse the canned lentils under cold running water and leave to drain. Alternately, use 2 cups (500 ml) of cooked-from-scratch lentils.  Add to a large bowl.  

2.  Toss in the diced onion, tomatoes, green/red pepper, sliced cucumber and minced fresh parsley.

Here my tomatoes look a little sad.  It is December 2nd and they are the last two I have left from my summer garden.

3.  Pour olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice over salad.  Top with crumbled feta and sprinkle with dried oregano and freshly ground black pepper.  I used a crumbled goat's milk feta and both my son and I really liked it.

Toss and adjust seasonings to taste.  You can also use dried thyme or mixed Italian seasoning instead of the oregano.

NUTRITION FACTS (per 1/12th recipe about 1/2 cup - 125 ml - 110 g): 110 calories, 6 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 170 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, 2 g fibre, 3 g sugar and 6 g protein.  %Daily Values are 8% vitamin A, 45% vitamin C, 10% calcium and 10% iron.


Tastefully yours,
Nancy Guppy, RD


Visit me at www.chapmanslanding.com where you can find out what's cooking on my class calendar.  If you are interested in nutrition or diet counselling pop over to www.nancyguppy.com.  A lot of health plans cover the cost of consulting an RD.

Masoor Dal with Winter Vegetables

It is the dead of winter in northern Ontario and it has been very cold outside.  Lately I have been making a lot of soups and stews.  I love making Dal and this recipe allows me to use my garden foods from last summer like potatoes, onions, garlic, dried chiles, frozen tomatoes and cilantro.  Dal is a favourite dish of mine winter or summer.

Some say chili.... I say chile!  As far as I know in the culinary world they are both correct.  You will also see Dal spelt dahl ... that link goes to Wikipedia.

Although a lot of foods do well simmered in the slow cooker I have tried it with dal and it is best made on stove-top.

Basically it is curried lentils and there are many kinds of lentils and beans used to make it.  I have been told that dal is cooked in most homes in India in one form or another.  When eaten with rice it provides complete protein.  Masoor Dal is made with the split red lentils which become a pale yellow when cooked.  I am using butter instead of ghee as we can't buy ghee where we live and I don't think most people would take the time, to make it.

I have been making this particular dal recipe since I was in my early 20's living in Toronto.  Peggy Patterson gave me the recipe.  We hooked up a few years ago and she doesn't remember where the recipe came from and was glad I reminded her of it!  I have tried many others but I do think this one is the best recipes.  I think it is quite authentic as I have had people from India and Bhutan eat it and they have given rave reviews!  Leftover dal can be served cold  like hummus with your favourite bread, crackers and vegetable dippers.  It makes a a really great appetizer served this way.

This recipe serves 4-6 people with rice as a vegetarian main course.  I makes about 10 servings when it is served as part of an Indian meal.

Imperial	Metric Measure	Ingredients
1 cup	250 ml	Lentils, red, dry
6 cup	1.5 liters	Water, cold
½ tsp	2.5 ml	Turmeric, ground
2 each		Potatoes, with skin, diced
2 each		Tomatoes, fresh, chopped (or approx 2 cup canned/frozen, a bit of the liquid is fine)
1 ½ tsp	7.5 ml	Salt, sea
1 tsp	5 ml	Cumin seed, whole (sub ground if needed)
3 Tbsp	45 ml	Cilantro, fresh, chopped
2 Tbsp	30 ml	Chile peppers, red, hot, fresh, chopped
2 Tbsp	30 ml	Butter, preferably organic (vegan =  a good oil of your choice)
4 each		Garlic, cloves, minced
1 cup	250 ml	Onion, raw, diced
1 tsp	5 ml	Garam masala, ground
1 Tbsp	15 ml	Butter, preferably organic (vegan =  a good oil of your choice)
1 Tbsp	15 ml	Lime juice, from fresh

1.  Wash red lentils in a sieve under cold running water until water runs clear.  Drain.  Add to large soup pot with turmeric and water, cover and boil until tender and soft - about 20 minutes.

2.  Wash and dice potatoes (skin on).  Dice fresh tomatoes - it doesn't matter how well as they break down during cooking.  You can also used canned or your frozen tomatoes.  I used my frozen ones.  Add with the salt and cumin to the pot and simmer until potatoes are just tender.

3.  Add minced cilantro and minced hot chiles. If you are not a fan of hot food you can substitute a tablespoon or less of our "chili powder."  It won't be authentic, but hey, you are making food to suit your taste.

Below I am showing cilantro growing in my north east window last March.  You can start it early in the house.  I think the cilantro I grow indoors does way better than outside in hotter months.  When I have a big crop I freeze it in zip lock bags so I can shred it and add to dishes during the off-season.

Some of the pretty red hot chiles I grew and dried from last summer are shown below.

4.  Heat butter and fry garlic and onion until golden.  Stir in garam marsala and fry another 2 minutes.  Pour over Dal and mix well.  Top with butter and lime juice.  This last amount of butter is optional.

Garam marsala is a mixture of spices which typically include black cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom pods.   You buy it as a spice blend at Indian food stores.  There is no good substitute but you can make do with a 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon each of ground cumin, black pepper, clove and cinnamon.  The cardamom again needs to be picked up in a specialty food store.  If you do have ground cardamom you can add a bit of that.  I have seen recipes that just use curry powder instead of garam masala but it isn't as good.

Nutrition Facts (per 240 g serving – makes approx 10)

Calories	140
Total Fat (g)	4
Saturated Fat (g)	2
Cholesterol (mg)	10
Carbohydrate (g)	20
Fibre (g)	4
Sugar (g)	1
Protein (g)	6
%Daily Values
Sodium	17 (400 mg)
Calcium	2
Iron	10
Vitamin A	10
Vitamin C	25

 

Tastefully yours,

© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc

Chapman's Landing Cooking Studio

http://www.chapmanslanding.com/default.asp

My next cooking class at Chapman's Landing is "I’m a Slow Cooker” on Saturday February 5^th.  Please see my menu and register online.

Lentil Garden Salsa

This fresh lentil salsa is shown here in my funny "salsa pig" that I bought while travelling in Oaxaca, MX. The salsa is made with "the usual" ingredients but it also has green lentils. The salsa is delicious, more nutritious than regular salsa and great way to get both kids and adults to eat healthy lentils. We ate variations of this lentil salsa here at least 10 times this summer alone! Use as a quick vegetarian meal, side salad or scoop it up with your favourite tortilla chips. Place leftovers in a container with lid and they keep well in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Makes approximately 6 cups or 1.5 liters. It doesn't freeze well so cut recipe in half if you want a smaller batch.

2 cups green lentils, cooked - 500 ml
3 cups tomatoes, fresh, large, diced very small - 750 ml
1 1/2 cups each red and green peppers, sweet, chopped fine - about 375 ml each
1 cup green onions, sliced fine - 250 ml (or 1/2 cup each minced white onion and 1/2 cup fresh garden chives)
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced - 125 ml
1/4 cup vinegar (red wine, white wine or cider etc.) - 60 ml
1/4 cup ketchup (or tomato sauce) - 60 ml
2 Tbsp cup oil like olive - 30 ml
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (more if you like)
1 Tbsp chili powder - 15 ml
1 Tbsp cumin powder - 15 ml
2 finely minced hot chiles or jalapenos - more or less depending on how hot you want it. (Sub = 1 tsp/5 ml cayenne pepper, ground)



1. Cook one cup dry green lentils according to package directions in unsalted water until soft but not mushy. I do this in the microwave in a large uncovered dish so they don't boil over. My microwave is older and probably cooks slower but I use 1 cup lentils and 3 cups water and cook on HIGH power for 25 minutes. You can add more water and cook them longer if they are still hard. Alternately cook them the old-fashioned way on the stove or you can use drained, canned lentils.



2. Finely dice the tomatoes, green and red pepper and toss in a large bowl. Stir in the sliced green onions (green tops and white bottoms), minced garlic and cilantro. Next stir in the cooked lentils, vinegar, ketchup, oil, fresh lime juice, chili powder and ground cumin. Taste and adjust seasoning. You can finely chop the vegetables in the food processor if you wish. Chill and serve. Garnish with fresh lime wedges and sprigs of cilantro.

The heat is from fresh chiles. Here Dave is finely slicing a frozen cayenne pepper. I froze them last fall in a sealed plastic bag and they are still good and coming in handy until this year's crop is available.



NUTRITION FACTS (per 125 ml serving): 80 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 65 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 3 g fibre, 4 g protein. % Daily Values are 2% calcium, 10% iron, 20% vitamin A and 60% vitamin C.

ABOUT LENTILS: Lentils are legumes that are grown in pods, which contain one or two round seeds each. There are many varieties that are classified as large or small. They are generally no more than a 1/4 of an inch in diameter. Lentils cook much faster than dried beans and do not require soaking. Lentil seeds are sold whole or split and some have had the hulls removed. The green and brown lentils, which hold their shape best after cooking, are the most common types. Red lentils are also popular but they do not hold their shape as well when cooked. Lentils have good nutritional value, containing a lot of fibre, B vitamins and protein.

© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc
Visit me at www.chapmanslanding.com
for course information, menus and registration.