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Are you looking eat more vegetarian meals too? I am not ready to go completely vegetarian but I want to eat more meals that don’t leave me feeling so heavy. With that said, the dish needs to be hearty. I don’t want to leave the table still felling hungry. Lentils are the answer. I love the texture and meatiness of the lentils. The lentils are also a great vessel to absorb, not exactly, the sauce. These Thai Red Lentils also have black beans and chick peas in the dish. The dish, though meatless, is loaded with protein.
Thai Red Lentils
So I did some research on lentils and found these facts from The Sweet Beet. The word lentil is from a Latin word which means disc given its shape. Lentils have the 3rd highest protein by weight of any plant behind soybeans and hemp – who wants to eat hemp. I digress. Unlike soybeans and hemp, lentils are virtually fat-free. One half a cup of lentils has the same amount of protein as 2 ounces of salmon. Lentils are a great ingredient to feature in your main dishes. The addition of the black beans and the chick peas made a very hearty dish.
These Thai Red Lentils took advantage of the Gourmet Garden stir-in-pastes that I have in my fridge. I used six of them this time. These stir-in-pastes are so easy to use and added a lot of flavor. The predominate flavor I used was the Thai Seasoning (hence the name). The Thai flavors were enhanced with the lemongrass, ginger, garlic and chili pepper. I rounded out the recipe with some cilantro. Bottom line this dish had a lot of flavor. The addition of the coconut milk made a super creamy sauce. I served the lentils over rice to pick up all the sauce.
- 2 cups red lentils
- 4 ounces Thai Seasoning stir-in-paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic stir-in-paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger stir-in-paste
- 1 tablespoon lemongrass stir-in-paste
- 1 tablespoon chili pepper stir-in-paste
- 1/2 tablespoon cilantro stir-in-paste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 bunch of fresh spinach
- 1 - 29 ounce can whole tomatoes
- 1 - 13.5 ounce can coconut milk
- 1 - 15 ounce can black beans
- 1 - 15 ounce can chick peas
- In a pot, bring water to boil and add red lentils.
- Cook for 8 minutes or so until just soft. (Do not over cook.) Set aside.
- In skillet, heat the oil on medium heat and add in all of the stir-in-pastes and mix well.
- Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the onions and spinach and cook for 5 minutes. Spinach should be wilted.
- Add the tomatoes and there juice and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Add in the coconut milk and heat through.
- Add in the black beans and chick peas. Cook until soft - 6 - 8 minutes or so.
- To finish, add in the lentils and let all the flavors meld for 2 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients
The stir-in-pastes added to skillet.
Stir-in-Pastes in Pan
The onions and spinach added to the sauce, and then, the tomatoes added.
Onions & Spinach in Sauce
Whole Tomatoes Added
The coconut milk added followed by the black beans and chick peas and finished with the red lentils.
Coconut Milk Added
Black Beans & Chick Peas Added
Lentils Added and Mixed In
The final Thai Red Lentils Plated.
Thai Red Lentils Plated
I adore red lentils, they cook up in a flash!
I think you are right. They cook up faster than all other lentils.
I have to admit I need to incorporate lentils into my diet. This looks delicious!
I just started putting lentils in my diet. They are very versatile.
The spices in this sound awesome. Love using lentils, such a great sub for meat. Sounds hearty and delicious!!
Lentils are hearty and you definitely need plenty of spice because the lentils have very little flavor themselves.
Yummmmm!!!! It looks like it would be pretty simple to make, but with loads of flavor!
Agreed – not hard to put together but very satisfying.
I love the idea of infusing Thai spices with the lentils! Lemongrass, cilantro, ginger, & coconut milk…. HELLO! This looks AMAZING! Can’t wait to try this!
Healthy and very tasty.
Thai flavors are the way to go! And this recipe is such a heart-throb. I’d like to take it out on a date please. Yes Ms Lentil, how are you doing today?! GOOD FOOD DRIVES ME CRAZY!
Thx for the laugh!
I love red lentils and I usually cook them in an indian version. This Thai recipe looks very interesting, I will give it a try quite soon and I’ll let you know 🙂
Del, very similar spices between Thai and Indian foods. I love each of them.
I’m with you re: lentils. We love them. Our family is not vegetarian but we love the meatiness of lentils. We just had lentil soup for lunch. Great idea to do it with Thai spices!
http://www.ittybittyfoodies.com
Wish we had tried them along time ago.
I love Thai food and red and green curry pastes are staples in our kitchen. This looks and sounds so deliciously perfect – I’ll take two bowls, thank you!
I love that you have red and green curry pastes in your kitchen. Love it! Putting the finishing touches on a yellow curry right now.
This looks delicious! I love lentils and am always looking for new ways to make them.
I am looking for more lentil ideas. So let me know what you come up with.
Once again the chef strikes! Wonderful recipe as always sir.
Thank you for the kind words Derek.
This is the perfect time of year for this recipe…. It sounds terrific! The coconut milk sounds like the perfect addition to this to make it my go to comfort food!
The coconut milk gives you that creamy feeling without all the fat of cream. Good trade off.
Love this! Not only healthy, but flavorful with all those different seasoning! This looks really good and makes me hungry. Awesome presentation and great photos, Peter! 😉
Thank you for the kind words.
That looks delicious, Peter. Love anything with lentils in it.
Thx for stopping by Manju.
Love red lentils especially when cooked in a thai curry! Did not realize you could buy so many different pastes — awesome, must be super convenient to cook with those!
I had used on of their pastes before. Definitely cool for weeknight meals.
It’s so true that lentils do have a wonderful, satisfying texture – and with protein from both lentils and chickpeas, this delicious looks incredibly satisfying! My husband and I love Thai food, and try to eat more meatless meals, so this is just perfect. Even better – the stir-in pastes make it incredibly easy, too!
Shelley, it sounds like you and your husband are doing what my wife and I are trying to do with these meatless meals. We will need to break bread together. 🙂
what a hearty meal, and so beautifully plated!
What a delightful take on red lentils. I just love how the Gourmet Garden Stir-In-Paste is so much less fuss, while still adding all those fresh flavors to a dish!
These stir-in-pastes are my new best friend when I do not have a lot of time.
I love lentils, but for some reason I’ve never thought of making them with Thai flavours. Great idea
Lentils are so flexible. They go so well with so many flavors.
I love red lentils and need to have more recipes to use them, so thanks. And, this one sounds lovely, so full of flavors and spices. Yum!
I am not a huge lentils fan but I LOVE the flavors you have in this!
I was not a fan of lentils until recently. They hold so many flavors well.
Red lentils are one of my favs, this looks great with the Thai flavors!
I love Thai curries, but I have never thought to do it with lentils. What a great idea, and lentils are very budget friendly too.
Sounds and looks delicious! Comfort meal!
Mmmm absolute total comfort food this! Loving the sound of those herb and spice pastes – a great winter standby when fresh herbs aren’t available.
My husband (who never liked lentils) just the other day said he wanted to try them again…now I have the perfect dish to tempt his palate! Thank you Peter!
Thai is my favorite, I have to try this.
Please let me know if you do Janette.
Peter, what a fabulous idea for a hearty vegetarian meal. I love that you’ve made a Thai style dish! Definitely a dish I could enjoy.
These flavors are so good together.
That’s a flavor explosion of the best kind! I want it.
I like that word explosion!
These stir in pastes look awesome! Do you know where I can find them?
Hayley, you should be able to find them at your grocery store. They are with the vegetables. Same place where you find the basil in those plastic packages.
You can find them in the vegetable section at your grocery store. Same place you find basil in those plastic packages.
Wow, with lemongrass, ginger and cilantro – this dish is not only very aromatic it surely is flavorful! Love it!
And you would certainly appreciate these flavors.
Big of yum here – this meal looks so flavorful and delicious!
It was big yum!
I ADORE Thai red curry, and I adore lentils, so this looks right up my street! Those stir-in-pastes look so handy.
All caps. You must really like this recipe. Thought you might since it was vegetarian and vegan.
What a delightful healthy meal this is.
Thx Patty.