Lentils
It’s surprising to me, how I become obsessed with lentils. They are easy to prepare, cheap, and very fulfilling, satisfying, and fit well with many other food items. And yes I didn’t mention yet that is very nutritious too!
When I was young, Mudjaddara was the meal for meatless day. I’ve always thought of lentils as cheap food, and can’t be a gourmet one. So I wasn’t always excited to eat it, yet never occurred to me, to try it with something else! And I feel naïve that I thought lentil is entitled to Arabic cuisine.
It’s really fascinating, how our tastes buds can evolve through the years. And how can we train them, to feel that certain food is more palatable!
Here, I’ve talked a lot more about lentils and it’s nutrition value.
Kale
I’ve discussed kale many time here in he blog. How nutritious it is, plus some recipes. It’s very versatile, with mild flavor that fits well with any food!
While raw kale is nutritious, cooking the kale makes it better, it releases and increases the amount of some vitamins.
Caution:
Consuming large quantities of kale is not advised, since its has high amounts of vitamins K, it should not consumed hugely with blood thinners.
It’s best for you to eat raw, and cooked kale, but do not overdo it. Please, don’t listen to those,who put insane amounts for everyday smoothie, it really can be harmful for you. It binds with minerals, and prohibit it’s absorption like iron, and calcium. Moreover, it contains oxalate that can cause kidney stones if taken in large amounts (means many cups a day!)!
Sesame oil
It is used a lot in Asian cuisine, It has a distinctive aroma and flavor. It’s very nutritious, because all of the antioxidants, and vitamins are transferred to oil when the seeds are pressed. It can can lower cholesterol and it has anti-inflammatory properties too.
Since it has a strong flavor, is best to have it raw on salads. If YOU want to use it in stir fry or to saute kale like this recipe, it should not be on heat, longer than few minutes, or it will taste very bitter to handle.
I’m happy that I came up with this nutritious recipe for you my readers. I would always love to share with YOU flavorful, and nutritious recipes that are easy to make! Plus I love cooking kale, it tastes like Jew’s mallo Mloukhyia that I can’t live without !
lets get to the recipe! Enjoy!
lentils stew over sauteed kale with sesame oil
Ingredients
- For the lentils stew:
- 1 Tb vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
- 1 small Onion
- 1 medium Carrot
- 2 medium Roma Tomato
- Half a cup of Lentils
- Spices ground like Coriander, Cumin, Turmeric, black pepper
- Water
- Sauteed kale:
- 1 Tb of Olive Oil
- 3 cups of Kale
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- Ground Black pepper
Instructions
- Add lentils to a boiling water, and let it on the stove for 30 minutes, or until its soft, but not mushy.
- Dice the onion, garlic, tomatoes, and carrots (steamed).
- In the mean time, heat skillet, add vegetable oil, on medium heat.
- Add the vegetables except kale, and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add lentils, and spices stir well.
- leave it for more 5-10 minutes.
- While you eat lentils, heat another skillet, and add olive oil on medium heat.
- Add kale, make sure all leafs got massaged with oil, for 5 minutes only.
- Now add sesame oil, and massage again for 2-3 minutes, and remove form heat.
- lay the kale on an open dish, and pour over the stew.
- Serve immediately!
- Optional:
- Add some toasted pine nuts!
Here are more nutritious and delicious lentils recipes:
Lentil Macaroni and Cheese by Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean
ORANGE LENTIL SALAD WITH AVOCADO by Alex at delish knowledge
Arugula Salad with Crunchy Garlic Lentils & Lemon Dijon Dressing by Andrea
SPINACH LENTIL PATTIES WITH LEMON CASHEW SAUCE by Maya & Emre
Would you like to try lentils, kale and sesame oil together? Have you tried it before? Do you have a favorite recipe? Please Share!
