For the Love of Lentils

October is finally here, which means despite our 80-degree afternoons, I can finally get away with making soup.

I wouldn’t go so far as to claim that soup is one of our absolute favorite cold-weather meals – unless it’s our homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese… because every time Chris and I dip a spoonful of that deliciousness we turn back into kids, sitting in our old family kitchens on memory lane. Instead, soup is more like a scrumptious frugal standby which we stick on either side of our more-favorite-but-more-expensive meals, like Roast Chicken or BLTs made with clean beef bacon.

As the resident soup maker, I’ve learned a couple things about making soup that my family loves: Something that can be garnished with shredded cheese is a safe option. Any cooked greens are better off chopped really small. And I should probably add lentils. Lentils are nearly always a hit.

These tiny legumes are one of my favorite ingredients for cold-weather foods. As a legume, they are a great source of vegetarian protein, and since I can pick up a pound of them for about $1, they are also incredibly frugal. Unlike beans, they require no soaking time, and they cook up in about 20 minutes.

A few tips for working with lentils:

1. Never add salt while they are cooking

This will harden them. Instead, wait until after they have cooked through.

2. Cook them in stock whenever possible

Not only is this another way to get some healthy (and practically free) homemade chicken stock or vegetable stock into your body, but it makes them taste a lot better. Lentils cooked in water require some serious doctoring before they are flavorful enough to be palatable (ask me how I know).

3. If desired, you can soak them anyway

When I’m thinking far enough ahead, I like to soak lentils for 12-72 hours in filtered water, changing the water every 12 hours. While it’s not necessary to have great tasting lentils, the research I’ve done indicates that this extensive soaking increases their healthful qualities. And as a plus, it cuts down the actual cooking time!

4. They freeze well

Like beans, you can cook up a big batch of lentils, then store them in the freezer in a plastic container until you’re ready to use them. However, I usually only use frozen lentils for dishes that aren’t soups.

Which brings me to my next point. Lentils aren’t just a hearty, frugal addition to soups. I use them in other recipes as well.

Over the next few weeks, I want to share a few of my favorite lentil recipes with you – both soups and other dishes. Some are old standbys and some are new favorites. But all of them are delicious, or I wouldn’t bother sharing them with you.

To start this little series off, I’m sending you back to a few lentil recipes I’ve shared in the past:

Frugal Vegetable Soup

An easy, frugal soup that can be made quickly and with very little fuss. Tastes fantastic with homemade millet muffins (someday I’ll get around to sharing that recipe…. actually I’ll plan to share it next week. Or maybe Friday. Because it’s too delicious to keep to myself).

Mush

Suspicious sounding? Yes. Comfort food? Absolutely. If you’re looking for something cheap, whole foods based, and warm and cheesy, you have found it.

We also had an Ask the Readers post where people chimed in ways to add a little kick to this dish.

Egyptian Lentil Soup

This scrumptious soup is largely based on pantry and vegetable staples, so I nearly always have the ingredients throughout the winter. Makes an easy fix for lunch or dinner, and shredded cheese takes it over the top.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

What do you like to make when the weather gets cold?

Cheers,

P.S. If you have any lentil recipes on your blog that you think I should try, let me know. If I love it, I will write about it!

For more meal-time inspiration, visit Tastetastic Thursday!