Hello there fellow communitty colleagues, My name is Daniel, a.k.a Question23.
Recently i decided to reduce my meat intake, so i stopped eating cow, chicken and pork meat. I Still eat fish and seafood, but it's kinda rare.
Bearing in mind that my protein intake would take a deep decline, i started to study options for protein in my diet, so i've found about grains and their protein amount. I started eating a lot of different grains, and one that i really enjoy and have a considerable ammount of protein is lentils (9g per 100g). Another great reason for eating lentils is the easy cooking and versatility of ways you can combine it.
So enough of introductions, here's the way I cook my everyday lentils.
Ingredients
500g of lentils
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 broccoli Stalk
1 Carrot
Salt
Seasonings to taste
The first step is to open the package and give a good wash on the grains, i put them in a sieve and let the water flow for about 30 seconds while shaking the sieve.
The next step is to put the lentils in a bowl and cover them with water, add a little bit more of water so it surpasses them for about 2 fingers, i usually leave them on the bowl overnight, and cook them for lunch, it's kinda the most difficut step, because you have to organize yourself.
As any other grain, is necessary to leave the lentils on water for at least 12 hours, and maximum of 36 hours. This process is necessary for starting the fermentation of the grain and removing some of the phytic acid, that is a substance that hinders the absortion of nutrients by our body and may even hamper our digestion, making us gassy, and no one wants that
The next step is to wash the lentils again, removing that acid water, you can see the lentils already have grown. After washing them, i select the next ingredients. usually i take whatever vegetables are in my fridge, you can use a lot of options like potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflowers, zucchinni, etc. In this case i used these ones.
I use garlic and onion almost everytime, what i do is after washing them, i peel them off and cut them in little cubes and let them stir-fry in oil, it can be used olive-oil, soy-oil, etc.
As for the Broccoli, i saved the flowers for another recipe and used the stalk as it usually goes to the trash. So i cut it in little cubes too and put it in the pan with the chopped carrot.
I let it on the fire mixing for about 2 minutes and add the washed lentils. Then i add water until the lentils are covered, salt and my favourite spices. In this recipe i used sweet smoked paprika and black pepper, but it's up to you, you can add curry, cumin, etc.
I let it cook for about 20 minutes, or i prove it until the lentils are the way i like, i usually eat them al dente.
And here they are, i hope you enjoyed this recipe!
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