Lentils and Peas

This is a nice hearty vegan dish for the winter months. Easy and quick to make!



Our cast of ingredients today includes carrots, frozen peas, red lentils, garlic, red pepper flake, soy sauce, and oil.

The sesame oil is just because I found it in the back of the fridge, lonely and abandoned, and decided someone should use it for something. You can use whatever you want.

The red lentils are very important, because they're split and have no skins. Ordinary brown lentils have the skin on, and if you cook that with sodium it gets tough and takes forever to cook. You could probably manage with brown lentils by extending the cooking time and waiting to add the soy sauce until they're almost done, but trust me, this is better.

Speaking of sodium, this is low sodium soy sauce, because that's what my mother buys. It's nasty. Don't use it.



As an experiment, I also decided to add some ground ginger and onion. It's not essential, but I rather like it. (Fresh ginger would be even awesomer, but I only buy that when I get to the Asian food market where it's $.99/lb.; otherwise it's too expensive to bother.)



Chop the carrots. I used three, but if yours aren't obnoxiously huge like mine, you might want four or even five. The carrots add a nice sweetness and texture.



Chop half the onion and about three cloves of garlic. You could use a bit more garlic--I was being cautious because of the onion.



Sautee the onion and garlic in a little oil.





Add the carrots and then the lentils. Stir it around.





Add 2 cups of water, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, and 1 tsp. ginger. If it starts to dry up you can add a little more water, but remember that the peas will add liquid when they thaw, so if you want a nice stew consistency you should leave it a bit dry.



Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about half an hour, stirring as often as you remember. Stir in the peas and cook until they thaw.

(I forgot to stir and it burned to the bottom. Don't be like me.)

If it seems too thin, let it sit for a few minutes and it will thicken up. This makes about four servings.

To review:

- 1 tbsp. oil
- 1 c. red lentils
- 3-4 carrots, chopped
- 1/2 an onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flake
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 2-2.5 c. water
- 1/4 c. soy sauce
- 1 box frozen peas

Sautee onion and garlic in oil. Add carrots and lentils; stir. Add water, soy sauce, and spices and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about half an hour, until lentils are soft. Stir in frozen peas; let heat through.

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