It’s fun being a teacher in the kitchen. All of our 3 children know how to cook, and during their growing-up years they helped in the kitchen. For a year or so during the teens, each kid had to cook a meal for everyone once a week. Skip forward 25 years, and now our various grandchildren are visiting from time and time. I’ve spent patient hours in the kitchen with each of them, helping them to master a recipe or two. Mostly it’s seemed to be cookies, because that’s what they wanted to make. Fine with me. This time, it was our oldest grandson’s [girl] friend Mary’s turn. She’s never cooked, so with coaching from me, she made dinner!

Logan had asked for salmon. I chose a recipe I’ve been wanting to make anyway, and with a couple of exceptions, I had all the ingredients. I had lemons, not limes, and I didn’t have any fresh dill. But this recipe was delicious enough as is – but yes, next time I try it I’ll buy limes and dill.

There’s Mary listening to me explain about something. I talked to her about Sichuan pepper, what a “pinch” was, and how to drizzle. Also how to use a mortar and pestle, grate fresh ginger, chop and sauté mushrooms in butter, make rice (she’d done that before). She was a very good student – I demonstrated some of the things and she quickly tried it and did it all very well.

We used a rice cooker, did the mushrooms separately, and combined them at the end. The salmon was prepped with some fresh ginger spread on each piece, salt, the Sichuan pepper, red peppercorns, a bit of oil, then they were baked in foil packets – about 10+ minutes. Mary made a green salad – I already had some of my Molasses Honey Vinaigrette in the refrigerator, so Mary just had to chop up the salad.

It was a lovely dinner. Mary did a superb job of getting everything done and the dinner came together well. And the salmon? It was really, really good. I think we all liked the crunch of the red peppercorns, and the amount of heat from the Sichuan pepper was just right.  The little crunch from fleur de sel on top was an added, nice crunch. As I mentioned, with Mary’s help, we made a rice cooker batch of basmati rice with mushrooms that was fabulous. I’ve included it in the recipe below. It was so good I made the rice again some days later for an Indian chicken dinner, which I’ll write up in a few days.

What’s GOOD: the salmon was cooked perfectly (almost under-done, but it was cooked through) and we all liked the seasonings a lot. The foil packet made it so simple with an easy clean-up. I’d definitely make this again, and it’s nice enough to make for guests too. The little drizzle of cream on the salmon at the end (just before serving) gave it a little lusciousness, although almost once poured you couldn’t see it – it was only a teaspoon per serving. I’d definitely make this again. I don’t guarantee the flavors if you use anything but the red peppercorns. Black ones would be oh-too strong, for sure.

What’s NOT: nothing at all.

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It’s so nice to find a new recipe for broccoli. I like the veggie to begin with, but it’s especially helpful when you find some new way to make it that is particularly delicious.

Recently I was with a group of women friends and we were discussing eating more vegetarian dinners, and how we’re eating more vegetables. One gal said she had a cookbook that is just her favorite for veggies. Once she said the name someone else said oh yes, she had that one too. I’d never heard of it, so I went online then and there, as I was sitting in this friend’s home (from my iPhone) and ordered a used copy from amazon. Love that amazon ap! The book, by Susie Middleton, is Fast, Fresh & Green. The book has lots of lovely photos, and my cursory look through the book had me thinking I’d try several recipes soon.

Two nights later, with broccoli to fix, I leafed through and found this recipe. I had pancetta (I buy the 4-ounce plastic boxes of the chopped pancetta at Trader Joe’s and simply stick it in the freezer), garlic and fresh thyme. The recipe suggests slices of pancetta, but I thought the little minced pieces worked just fine.

This dish was so EASY! I cut off the woody stalks of the broccoli (or it’s fine to use the pre-packaged already cut florets), then cut the broccoli into 3-inch or so lengths with some of the florets on each one. I added oil to a large pan (larger than you might think you need – the broccoli needs contact with the bottom of the pan – it will cook faster if you use a really, really wide pan). First you add the pancetta and let it shrink up some (harder to tell with the minced pancetta), then over low heat you add the garlic halves and let them sizzle just a tiny bit to get golden. If they start to brown, the flame is too high – you’re just wanting to mellow the garlic, not burn it! Then you add the broccoli and fresh thyme sprigs and stir periodically to brown the broccoli. For 4 servings, I used a 10-inch deep sided pan (about 5” high) and it was difficult getting all that broccoli to brown so it took lots and lots of stirring to keep shifting the position of the broccoli. Next time I’ll use a much larger pan (well, a 12-inch). I have a new pan in my repertoire: a 12-inch nonstick by Swiss Diamond, pictured at left (photo from their website). It’s not available at Amazon (the 12-inch specifically). I ordered it from Great News, the cookware store in San Diego that I visit frequently. I just LOVE this new pan. I don’t know whether I’ve mentioned in recent weeks that I’m no longer buying anything from ScanPan because they (apparently) aren’t standing behind their warranty. Great News has stopped carrying the brand, period. They recommended the Swiss Diamond.  The difference between ScanPan and Swiss Diamond is that with the Swiss you do have to use nonstick utensils. With ScanPan you did not. Over several years I’d had to replace a ScanPan smaller frying pan because we just couldn’t get it clean. After a few weeks of use, no matter how much we scrubbed it (with nylon scrubbies) a buildup of fat or stuff would accumulate. Looked awful.

Anyway, next time I’ll use that 12-inch pan even for a smaller portion. The broccoli stems are “the problem,” if you can say there IS a problem. If you use much of the stem portion, do cut the stem in half rather than leaving it whole – it’ll never cook through. The recipe indicates the stems will still be slightly firm, and that’s fine – ours were just that – but if you don’t like anything firm, I suggest you slit the end of each cut stem (they’ll fan out and curl, but they’ll be cooked through).

What’s GOOD: how easy it was – all in one pan – even suitable for guests – the flavors are subtle, but the broccoli has a lovely bright taste. Altogether a good side; I’ll definitely make it again.
What’s NOT: you do have to keep stirring it now and then, but not constantly. You do not want the broccoli to burn, just brown. Getting the stems cooked through can be problematic, especially if you don’t like broccoli that has any crunch to it.

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Oh my goodness . . . where  have you been all my life . . . German style mashed potatoes? You’re going to become a regular – at those special times when we have mashed potatoes, that is. These were really easy enough to make and we could hardly stop eating them.

We were having some sausages (Nuremburger and Bratwurst) for dinner, the delicious ones I buy at a German deli, Tip Top Meats, in Carlsbad (north of San Diego). I had one Russet potato I’d bought several weeks ago – it was almost over the hill. That’s how often I use potatoes. Anyway, I let my mind run wild as to what to do with it. I searched for some kind of more healthy fried potato. They’re not one of my favorite things, though. When we go out to breakfast I never eat fried potatoes or hashed browns, or even country fried potatoes. They’re just not my thing. So I looked further and I noticed a German style mashed potato recipe (at A Taste of Home). Sure enough, I had all the ingredients.

The potato was cut up into chunks (I chose to leave the skin on) and simmered them for 10-12 minutes until the potato was cooked through. I drained them, returned them to the same pot and set them aside. Meanwhile, I defrosted one slice of thick-sliced bacon from the freezer, chopped it up into little chunks and set it to rendering on the stove. Then I added  half a chopped up red onion (any onion will do – I just happened to have a half of a red onion in the refrigerator). The bacon had virtually no fat in it, so I had to add a tetch of oil to keep the mixture from burning. Then I added a chopped up (cored, unpeeled) apple. I had a honey crisp apple, but you could probably  use any type – this one didn’t disintegrate at all – I liked that part, so you’d want to use a crisp type or a Granny Smith. If you used a Pippin, you might want to add sugar. I let it sauté for about 10 minutes over low heat. Then I added about 1-2 teaspoons of white vinegar, salt and pepper. The recipe indicated adding sugar, but I tasted it and didn’t think it was needed.

The recipe had you roughly mash the potatoes, so I used my hand-masher some – not thoroughly, as I like to still taste some little chunks – then I scraped in the apple, bacon and onion and stirred it up. The Russet was quite dry by then so I did need to add some milk to smooth it out. I added a little salt and pepper and it was done. Oh my. Yes. I’m glad I left the pan in the kitchen (I always serve our plates in the kitchen so we aren’t tempted to have seconds) so I have enough for another dinner.

What’s GOOD: well, having never had potatoes and apples before in any combination, it was a really lovely taste combination. It was a beautiful match with the sausage. I put out a couple of jars of different kinds of mustard and that was our dinner along with some sliced tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese drizzled with white balsamic vinegar and some Tuscan olive oil. And sprinkled with fresh basil we still have growing in the garden. We both ate in near silence – because it all tasted so darned good. Absolutely I’ll be making this again and again. I’d think kids would love this since it has a bit of sweetness from the apples.
What’s NOT: nothing that I can think of – it does take a little extra time to make, but if you ever do sausages on the grill or any kind of sausage as a dinner entrée, you’ll be really happy to have this variation on fried potatoes or straight mashed.

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Do you forget about preparing celery root? Surely I do – and I like celeriac. I just never think to buy it. Does it help to know that celery root is actually a very healthy food? Low in calories and certainly a lot lower in carbs than potatoes.

Probably the deterrent is the nuisance of preparing it. Or maybe we look at it as such an ugly veggie, we just don’t bother? Well, fix that, by making this dish the next time you need some creamy carb. Depending on how gnarly it is, you can try using a vegetable peeler. If it’s particularly root-y, I’d recommend using a knife. Do remove all of the little dark brown crevices, though – they don’t look pretty in the finished dish. Plunge the cut cubes into cold water as it turns brown quickly. 

Cut everything up and put it into cold water to cover and just let it sit until you’re ready to cook it. That will keep both veggies from turning brown. Allow yourself about 30 minutes total – to bring the pot to a boil, then simmering. Mashing and seasoning takes no time at all.

It doesn’t take long to cook it – usually about 15 minutes. Hence you cut the potatoes into slightly smaller pieces so they’ll all be done at about the same time. Once done, you drain it, mash it by hand (providing you like a rustic mash – I do), then add butter and milk. You can put the celery root in a food processor (not the potato, however – it becomes glue-y). Season it with salt and pepper, then toss in the arugula. Of course, if you’re not an arugula fan, just leave it out. Garnish with Italian parsley. Makes a great bed for a meat dish. Next recipe up will be a chicken breast that goes really well with this.

What’s GOOD: well, the taste is first and foremost. The combo of celery root and potato is really nice. Mellow. Nutty almost. The texture, of course, is just like mashed potatoes, but using the combo is healthier. Fewer carbs for sure. I like the arugula addition. Do remember that celery root is really good for us!
What’s NOT: not much of anything, other than getting over the appearance of the celery root.

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What do you think about them apples sweet potatoes? Ever seen purple sweet potatoes? Me neither! Did you know that purple foods are high in antioxidants? Yup!

The folks at Frieda’s send me new products now and then, and when they asked if I’d like to try this new purple sweet potato, I said sure! A few days later they arrived on my doorstep, and it just happened I was making a roasted turkey breast for dinner. Perfect!

Here’s what the purple sweet potatoes look like whole, unpeeled.

From the outside, they don’t look too different from an ordinary red/orange sweet potato. But gosh, once you cut into it, you sure know it’s different. Below is a photo of the peeled and halved potato.

The little white ring (right) inside, is a fluid that leaks from the potato – perhaps the starch? I don’t know. It made no difference in the cooked potato.

With a turkey breast on the menu, I wanted mashed potatoes, so I merely chopped them up (after peeling) into 1 1 /2 inch pieces, approximately, cooked them in simmering water until they were done, mashed with a hand masher, added some milk, butter, salt, pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. Perfect!

We had guests for dinner, and I must say, everyone was a little apprehensive about them, but once you put them in your mouth you have no idea they’re purple. Certainly made fun conversation at the table. Our daughter Sara was visiting that night and I had her take home the leftovers to her teenagers. Hmmm. They wouldn’t even try it. They thought Grandma was playing a trick, that I’d doctored them up with purple food coloring. She assured them I wasn’t, but they still wouldn’t taste them! We ate all but a few bites, though, and thought they tasted great. The color is a little odd, I must say, but yes, I’d buy them again. They were fun and tasty too.

Here’s what Frieda’s has to say about this potato:

[Stokes’s is a] special new sweet potato variety with purple skin and bold purple flesh that intensifies when cooked. Aside from its unique bold color, The Stokes Purple® differs from other sweet potatoes and yams in its flavor and mouth feel, offering a favorably dryer, denser and richer taste that is not cloyingly sweet. The Stokes Purple® Sweet Potato is grown in California and is non-GMO.

If you’re interested in finding these critters, here’s a link to Frieda’s resource page for them. You might call the store listed to make sure they DO have them. If your family is into doing something fun, this might be the ticket to surprise at your Thanksgiving meal!

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When we did our Israeli dinner a couple of weeks ago, we surely needed salad. With all the richness from the lamb and sides, I was looking forward to fattoush. I have another fattoush on my blog – it’s called Syrian Pita Bread Salad. And it’s a favorite of mine (from my friend Joanne) that I’ve been loving for over 20 years – mostly because of the greens and the lemon juice dressing. But this fattoush is altogether different because it’s about the veggies.

In some Middle Eastern cultures, a fattoush salad is mostly about the BREAD. In others it’s more about the GREENS with the bread almost as a garnish (and that’s what the Syrian Pita Bread Salad is). In this salad, it’s all about the VEGETABLES. In the cookbook, Jerusalem: A Cookbook the authors explain that throughout Israel an every meal must-have is some kind of vegetable salad – tomato, cucumber and onion. It’s what they call an affliction! What a strange word to use for a food!

In some previous post I know I mentioned that when we visited Egypt in 1997 (we were IN the Valley of the Kings a mere 2 days before the massacre there . . . wow, was God ever looking out after us on that trip!), and then for 3 weeks in Turkey, we both enjoyed (yet got tired of) the breakfasts offered to us: platters of tomato wedges, big blocks of very salty Feta cheese, bread (pita, rolls or bagels) and hard boiled eggs. And little bowls or shakers of the herb mixture za’atar. That’s when I first tried za’atar and liked the lemony taste (from the sumac in it). So, I learned how important tomatoes are, for sure. Middle Easterners [it seems to me] eat tomatoes 365 days a year – not an altogether bad thing, but I think I’d get tired of it if I ate it daily at one or more meals.

Anyway, this salad – is a predominantly vegetable salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes), with an ample amount of stale flatbread, herbs (mint and sumac) and soaked with a yogurt and buttermilk dressing. The dressing contains both lemon juice and vinegar, and olive oil is drizzled all over the top before serving. It sounds complicated, but it’s not. My friend Cherrie made this, and she tossed it just before serving.

What’s GOOD: I liked the yogurt-buttermilk dressing. I liked how it soaked into the bread, but not completely, so there was still some crunch (wouldn’t have been, though, with the left overs, so make only what you know you’ll eat). I liked all the fresh veggies. I liked the mint. Would I make it again? Maybe, but I know I’d probably fix the Syrian Pita Bread Salad first. The two salads are hard to compare because this one is so vegetable-centric and the Syrian one is greens-centric. So it’s like comparing apples and oranges.

What’s NOT: there are a lot of ingredients, for sure. But once you get everything all ready, it’s easy to put it together at the last minute. It just needs 10 minutes sit. And if your tomatoes are not at their peak, this salad would be lacking in flavor.

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The humble eggplant. Made in so many guises. This one’s a side dish, or it could be a vegetarian entrée (it does have Feta cheese in it) if you served just one of those per person. Prepare to be surprised at the flavors in this version.

When I was working on the menu for the Israeli dinner we did awhile back, I had fun going through Ottolenghi and Tamimi’s book, Jerusalem: A Cookbook. There are some gorgeous photographs of food, homes, kitchens, markets, families, street people, city views, floors,  walls, doors and everything in between. And ample explanations about some of the more unusual ingredients not known much to Western cultures. Like sumac, for instance, and date syrup.

Our dinner group is comprised of 4 couples. The hostess chooses the theme or menu, and can leave each cook to her own devices to find an appropriate recipe, or in this case, since I wanted us to cook a full meal from this cookbook, I chose the recipes myself and sent them out. Initially I thought this eggplant might be part of our first food – a mezze. As it turned out we had 2 mezze items already so the eggplant was cut into thirds and everyone had a nice-sized chunk of it with our dinner. Peggy made this dish earlier in the day. We served it at room temp.

The chefs wrote a fairly long introduction prior to this recipe, about the eggplant. I’m going to type it here because I found it so interesting (the emphases below are mine):

Few ingredients have reached the level of veneration achieved by the humble eggplant or have found their way to almost every table in Jerusalem, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everybody loves to be associated with the eggplant – it’s like a little local celebrity. The number of people who claim to have invented baba ghanoush, or at least elevated it to the level of fine food, is extraordinary.

At the markets in the city, the eggplants come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, from the regular kind, elongated and uniform in size, to zebra – streaked on the outside and pure white on the inside, baby eggplants; globe eggplants; and the baladi, a local heirloom variety that is wide, flat and resembles an open fan.

Eggplants, depending on variety, lend themselves to pickling, stuffing, cooking in sauce, frying, baking, roasting, charring, burning, pureeing and even cooking in sugar and spice to make a festive jam (Moroccan) or fruit mostarda (Aleppine), a type of candied fruit conserved in a spicy syrup. They also marry beautifully with the flavors so typical of the city: tahini, pine nuts, date syrup, tomatoes, chickpeas, potatoes, lemon, garlic, lamb, fresh cheese and yogurt, olive oil, sumac, and cinnamon.

Arabs first brought eggplants to Italy and Spain, but it was the Jews who are said to have introduced them to these cuisines when moving and trading among the Arab, Moorish and Christian cultures in the 15th and 16th centuries. Sephardic Jews have always been identified with eggplants, as were Arabs, even when Europeans were quite suspicious of them and were reluctant to use them, believing that “mad apples,” as they were known, induced insanity.            . . . from Jerusalem: A Cookbook

This eggplant dish, really quite simple actually, has you roast the halved eggplant in a hot oven, scoring the open surfaces a little,  until they’re golden brown. Onions are cooked separately until they develop an almost caramel look and flavor, and they’re mixed with some mild green chiles and the spices: cumin and sumac. And lastly, some Feta is added in. This mixture is spread on the roasted eggplant and a topping is made using the fresh pulp and juice of a lemon, some of the green chile and garlic. That’s drizzled over the top and allowed to sit out until serving time. Can be served warm, or at room temperature. The only precaution mentioned in the recipe is that eggplant can dry out when roasted (probably because eggplants are not uniform in size) so they suggest you place a shallow pan of water in the oven to help keep the eggplant hydrated.

What’s GOOD: certainly this dish is different, but except for the sumac, it’s ordinary ingredients to most home cooks. I loved the combination – the soft flavorful eggplant with the browned onions and Feta. It has ample umami flavor. Also good that it can be made a few hours ahead of time – always nice if you’re cooking for guests.

What’s NOT: can’t think of anything. We liked it.

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Folks from the Middle East, and in this case, Israel, do know their carrots. They prepare them in a multitude of ways. from raw to cooked, even to dessert. This, however, is just a side dish, a salad to serve with a full dinner. They were absolutely outstanding mixed with some arugula.

Our quarterly gourmet group gathered at our house recently for a fun evening of Israeli food. Since I was the hostess, I got to decide what we’d make, and this time I chose to have a menu from Yotam Ottolenghi’s newest book, Jerusalem: A Cookbook. I chose the recipes (based on a leg of lamb as the main course), scanned the recipes and emailed them to everyone in the group. Each couple brought 2 dishes and a bottle of wine. You’ll see all of the recipes here in the next week or so.

The first bite from our main dish plate was a carrot. I loved them. Often in a Middle Eastern restaurant you will find a small platter (a mezze) of tidbits to nibble on. Appetizers. And carrots are frequent. Here on my blog I have a fabulous carrot salad – it’s a favorite of mine called Algerian Carrots. They’re so much of a favorite that they’re on my list of Carolyn’s Favs you can click to with all my favorite recipes on my blog. Those carrots have a vinaigrette on them, but it’s mostly lemon juice and garlic that predominate. I could eat those carrots every single day.

These carrots were somewhat different – they contained different spices (cumin, caraway and harissa) and it used cider vinegar instead of lemon juice. Harissa is a red chile pepper condiment – many upscale markets carry it now. The jar I have I bought from Williams-Sonoma some years ago (keep in refrigerator). So the flavors were altogether different. But good. And this one has some arugula tossed in at the end. We decided that to serve these straight away, without the greens, would almost be too heavy. We liked the arugula which cut the oil and vinegar a little bit.  The recipe says that often in Tripoli (where this recipe originates, Ottolenghi says) it’s made with pumpkin or butternut squash – or carrots.

Nothing about this is difficult. You do have to cook the onion, combine the spices, and cook the carrots. But once combined, they can be made ahead at least a day and that part of your meal is finished. Toss with the arugula just before serving.

What’s GOOD: well, I love carrots anyway, so it was a no-brainer that I’d like them. Good carrot flavor, just enhanced with the spiciness from the harissa and the cumin and fennel. They’ll keep for several days – just toss in fresh arugula on subsequent servings, if you have any left.
What’s NOT: nothing at all. Delicious.

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Well, the pan wasn’t quite dry, but almost. Just a little dab of butter was used to pan roast these delicious little beauties. It can’t get much easier than these.

Catching up on all the blogs I read is a steady, ongoing thing for me – I read so many, and if I let it get away from me, I’ll have over a thousand to read. Definitely over the top, and almost depressing to me – makes me feel like I can’t ever catch up! I can power-read occasionally – because it’s something I don’t like, or don’t think I’ll like, or it’s a subject not-dear to my heart. But when I read the Food52 blog pieces, generally I’m clicking over to the actual story and recipe on nearly every post. And they post several a day.

Perhaps you’ve already done these beans before – I never had, and it boggles my mind that you can actually cook green beans in nearly a dry skillet. Yup! The recipe is Spanish in origin, and a simpler method could hardly be found! Penelope Casas posted it on Food 52 recently. Mine, in the photo up top there, got a tad overdone, but they were still so tasty that my DH ate every single one on his plate before I could blink an eye, just about. And I finished off mine in a jiffy as well, before I even took a bite of the pork chops. And talk about easy.

Melt a little bit of butter, heat the pan to medium-high, toss in a bunch of cleaned, stem-trimmed green beans (dry them off well if you’ve washed them) and stir them around. In a few minutes they’ll begin to brown – you want those toasted brown spots on them. Not black, but several little strips of dark brown is just how you want them to be. Then, put a lid on it and turn down the heat. The instructions are specific – resist the temptation to add water, or anything at all. Just turn down the heat and cover, and cook them for about 15 minutes (depending on the size of the beans – if they’re those tiny haricot verts, less time will be needed). The moisture from the beans themselves will steam them done. Really. Yes. It works. Trust me. Then you toss them with the garlic and salt, and they’re ready to serve. Just like that.

What’s GOOD: How incredibly easy they were to make, and yes, I did want to put a little bit of water in that pan, but could hear the directive in my head – resist the temptation, the voice said. Delicious. I almost dare you not to like them! And yes, I’ll definitely be making them again. Sooner rather than later, if that tells you anything.

What’s NOT: Nothing at all – maybe just being careful about the heat levels – not too hot when you’re browning them (no burning) and then much lower when you’re cooking them (no burning then, either).

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Gosh, do I love this stuff. I’ve made a very similar recipe, spelled slightly differently, called Mujadara, and it’s an Armenian dish of the same style. Rice, lentils and onions. This one is slightly different, and it’s said to have Arab origins, but they’re one and the same. Slightly different seasonings, and a different preparation of the onions. Both delish. Both very worth making.

We were having lemony chicken on a shish kebob (not a very noteworthy recipe, so I probably won’t post about it), and I wanted a carb side dish and what came to mind was something along the lines of the mujadara I’d made a couple of years ago. I turned to one of my newest cookbooks, Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Ottolenghi and Tamimi. I’ve only made a couple of things so far from that book, but I assumed there would be a recipe for this dish in it. Sure enough.

It was slightly different, but not by much. Lentils cook almost to done and are set aside. Whole spices (cumin and coriander) are toasted, then rice added. The onions are tossed with a bit of flour and salt and are deep fried in a fairly shallow pan. They recommended sunflower oil, but I used grapeseed (which has a high flash point). That did take awhile – 5-7 minutes per batch and it took me 4 batches to get it done. That did take a bit of time.

The rice and lentils finish cooking with more added spices (turmeric, allspice, cinnamon) and a tiny bit of sugar. People in the Arab world often eat this as a vegetarian entrée, but I served it as a side dish. My earlier recipe garnishes with pine nuts and cilantro. Ottolenghi’s recipe just garnishes with the fried onions (which is the one ingredient that makes this dish).

If you serve this as a main dish, it probably will feed 8 people, but as a side dish it will serve more. I had quite a lot left over (which is fine with me) and I divided it up into 3 separate freezer bags with 3 additional little baggies with the onions separated that I inserted into the bigger bags. They’re already stashed in the freezer for some later evening when I don’t know what to make for dinner.

What’s GOOD: the flavors are just fantastic – the spices, the onions, the rice, the slight nuttiness of the lentils. All delish. Worth the effort.
What’s NOT: nothing other than it takes a bit of time to make, but like me, you’ll probably be glad you did it when you take a taste.

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