The Lustful Vegan

For some strange reason there’s a conspiracy of lentils this week. I certainly didn’t set out to make an all-lentil dinner, but that’s what I ended up with. How can you go wrong with lentils, though?

First there was lentil soup. Lemony lentil soup. I had a small heap of lemons in the crisper, and a shiny new bag of beluga lentils (which at 24% apparently boast the highest amount of protein of all the lentils). I figured these had to go together. The results? Zingy! Fabulously zingy. I won’t be getting scurvy anytime soon. Served with sweet potato fries, it was very hearty. This might be my new favourite soup; the recipe’s below.

And after dinner? Lentil cookies. As soon as I knew such a thing existed, I had to make them. And omg, yum! Fresh from the oven they were light and crispy on the outside, and full of cranberry-cherry tastiness. Instant love. The original recipe is easily veganized (sub Earth Balance for butter, egg replacer for the egg). For extra flavour I simmered my lentils in light coconut milk with a goodly pinch of nutmeg and maybe a half teaspoon of mace. (Vanilla rice milk would probably be equally good.) I also toasted my oats in the toaster oven while doing other things. (325F, stirred twice, maybe 6 minutes?) For some reason my cookies took an extra couple minutes to bake, but that might just be an oven variation. Regardless, these are fabulous, particularly when toasted for a few minutes to crisp them up. I suspect they’ll make my top-3 list of cookies long before I finish eating them all. Besides, they have protein and fruit in them, so they’re healthy, right?

Lemony lentil soup

• oil
• 1 cup beluga lentils
• 1 large red onion, chopped small
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1/2 large yam, diced (mine was massive, probably equal to one normal sized yam)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 to 5 cups water (depending on how thin or thick you like your soup)
• 2 1/2 cubes bouillon, to taste*
• 3/4 to 1 cup fresh lemon juice (I used three lemons, and had just under a cup)
• 2 T dill (dry)
• 3 cups kale, destemmed and chopped small-ish
• white pepper, freshly ground, to taste

* Don’t add salt (including in bouillon cubes) until the lentils are done or it may interfere with their cooking, making them crunchy and nasty instead of soft and tasty.

How to:

1. Start onions and garlic in a large pot — sautee in a little oil until they start to soften.
2. Add the carrot and yam, continue until they’re also starting to soften.
3. Add the dill, rubbing to bring out the flavour more. Stir well.
4. Pick over the lentils for stones or twigs, then rinse well in a sieve. Add to the pot.
5. Stir for a couple minutes, then add the water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then cover and lower to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the lentils are soft.
6. Add the bouillon cubes, lemon juice, and a healthy dose of freshly ground white pepper.
7. Using an immersion blender, blend for ten or fifteen seconds. Stir well, leave for 5 minutes or so to let flavours mingle and get to know each other.
8. Add the kale, cover, leave for another 10 minutes, or until the kale is just wilted but still bright green. Taste, and amend seasonings as necessary.
9. Serve & enjoy!