YEAR OF THE PULSE - LENTIL TACOS
Ok, so it's been about 1000 years since I've udpated this blog - apologies! Life got it in the way - we sold our house, we traveled, we bought a new house, renovated it, yadda yadda yadda.
I've been cooking a lot more lately and creating some pretty amazing dishes so I wanted to share them here - in case anyone cared to read about them - ha.
I've also been a lot more crafty and creative in and around my home, beauty ideas, fashion, etc, so this will be kind of an overall recap of my life lately.
Here's what I made last night:
Lentil Tacos
For the lentils:
I no longer purchase canned beans as I find them to be over salted and over priced for what you get. Go to the bulk store or aisle and pick up a bag of green lentils.
2 cups of dry lentils
4 cups of water
1 tsp of salt
Throw all of this in your crock pot and give it a good few hours on high. Drain and set aside.
Heat a frying pan with your choice of oil on medium high - I used a Harissa scented olive oil that I thought would impart a nice spice on the lentils.
Add your lentils along with:
1 tbsp hot paprika
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
Fry all of this goodness for a few minutes, you'll notice the spices will begin coating the lentils but will need a little help dissolving them. At this point, add a cup or two of water (use your discretion, you don't want it to be soupy), and turn the heat up so most of the water evaporates. Add a splash of vinegar for a hint of acidity. The lentils will absorb the spices with the help of the water, and render down into a delicious ground beef like taco mixture. Take off the heat once most of the water has rendered off, and set aside.
While your lentils are cooking, heat up your choice of vehicle in which to serve the lentil taco mixture - I used soft shell tacos and put them in a low degree oven for a few minutes. Hard shell tacos would work too.
For the accoutrements:
Pickled cabbage
Quarter head of cabbage, thinly sliced
Half a cup of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of chilli flakes
1/4 cup of brown sugar
You're essentially making a finishing sauce (used to drizzle over BBQ meats traditionally) and mixing it with the cabbage to pickle it. Set aside and allow the cabbage to absorb all the flavours.
Garlic Aioli
In a blender, add two egg yolks, 1 cup of olive oil, half the juice of a lemon, pinch of salt and a couple cloves of garlic. Blend on high until the mixture takes on a pale yellow colour and thickens. Set aside in a bowl for serving.
Grate your choice of cheese, I used cheddar, slice up some scallions, and make or put out your favourite salsa. My favourite is Herdez - it's the most authentic and best flavoured salsa I've found at the grocery store. You could also make your own pico de gallo.
Layer the lentils, pickled cabbage, cheese, salsa, garlic aioli, and scallions, and then serve!
You're welcome for the INSANE flavour explosion in your mouth!
If you have crazed meat eaters in your family, I PROMISE they will not notice there is no meat in this dish! My husband went nuts for these.
I've been cooking a lot more lately and creating some pretty amazing dishes so I wanted to share them here - in case anyone cared to read about them - ha.
I've also been a lot more crafty and creative in and around my home, beauty ideas, fashion, etc, so this will be kind of an overall recap of my life lately.
Here's what I made last night:
Lentil Tacos
For the lentils:
I no longer purchase canned beans as I find them to be over salted and over priced for what you get. Go to the bulk store or aisle and pick up a bag of green lentils.
2 cups of dry lentils
4 cups of water
1 tsp of salt
Throw all of this in your crock pot and give it a good few hours on high. Drain and set aside.
Heat a frying pan with your choice of oil on medium high - I used a Harissa scented olive oil that I thought would impart a nice spice on the lentils.
Add your lentils along with:
1 tbsp hot paprika
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
Fry all of this goodness for a few minutes, you'll notice the spices will begin coating the lentils but will need a little help dissolving them. At this point, add a cup or two of water (use your discretion, you don't want it to be soupy), and turn the heat up so most of the water evaporates. Add a splash of vinegar for a hint of acidity. The lentils will absorb the spices with the help of the water, and render down into a delicious ground beef like taco mixture. Take off the heat once most of the water has rendered off, and set aside.
While your lentils are cooking, heat up your choice of vehicle in which to serve the lentil taco mixture - I used soft shell tacos and put them in a low degree oven for a few minutes. Hard shell tacos would work too.
For the accoutrements:
Pickled cabbage
Quarter head of cabbage, thinly sliced
Half a cup of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of chilli flakes
1/4 cup of brown sugar
You're essentially making a finishing sauce (used to drizzle over BBQ meats traditionally) and mixing it with the cabbage to pickle it. Set aside and allow the cabbage to absorb all the flavours.
Garlic Aioli
In a blender, add two egg yolks, 1 cup of olive oil, half the juice of a lemon, pinch of salt and a couple cloves of garlic. Blend on high until the mixture takes on a pale yellow colour and thickens. Set aside in a bowl for serving.
Grate your choice of cheese, I used cheddar, slice up some scallions, and make or put out your favourite salsa. My favourite is Herdez - it's the most authentic and best flavoured salsa I've found at the grocery store. You could also make your own pico de gallo.
Layer the lentils, pickled cabbage, cheese, salsa, garlic aioli, and scallions, and then serve!
You're welcome for the INSANE flavour explosion in your mouth!
If you have crazed meat eaters in your family, I PROMISE they will not notice there is no meat in this dish! My husband went nuts for these.
Comments