Saturday, March 24, 2012

Turkish Carrots and Lentils

Look at my beautiful Staub! We received this as a wedding gift and I was so happy and it was so precious to me that it took me forever to use it.


I like the idea of this dish because it has 1 lb of carrots and carrots don't get the spotlight too often (and I love them). I also love that it's lentil based, as lentils are much better than beans (to me anyway).

And while I did enjoy this dish, I also admit that it lacked some flavour. A bit of spices could really help here. Maybe some smoked paprika and thyme? (I have no idea if that would taste good I was just googling Turkish spices and those 2 sounded good to me! I also have some sumac from my visit to Turkey last year and have yet to use it.)

I'm off to Trader Joe's today!!!! So excited.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Lemon Curried Lentils and Potatoes
Dal Makhni
Spice Market Sweet Potato and Lentil Packets
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Turkish Carrots and Lentils
Adapted from Cooking Light Way to Cook Vegetarian

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes
1 lb carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups water
1 cup uncooked dried green lentils
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add tomato paste and chili pepper flakes, stir for 30 seconds. Add the carrots and 1/4 tsp salt and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a separate large pot, bring 3 cups water and the lentils to a boil. Cover, reduced heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium-high, and stir in onion/carrot mixture. Cook for 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in remaining 1/4 tsp salt and ground black pepper.

12 comments:

Eschelle Westwood Mumfection said...

YUM-O I pinned this for later for sure!

Joanne said...

It's definitely kind of weird that they called this dish turkish when there isn't even a single turkish spice! It definitely sounds like a good base to add flavor to, though!

Louisa said...

this looks interesting!

Right now I'm eating sweet potato soup I put too much chipotle in and wishing it was a little less intense :P

Eileen said...

Yay dutch oven! I too got one fairly recently (although for a birthday present, so, uh, my "fairly recently" is more like "six months ago") and I love it so. Big stews for all & sundry!

janet @ the taste space said...

Hey Ashley, This looks so good (I love Turkish food!) and I bet a hit of sumac is probably what it needed. It adds a sour tang but the taste can be a bit acquired if you know what I mean. ;)

I didn't know you liked carrots so much.. I highly recommend this salad, then: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/warm-carrot-and-flageolet-bean-salad-with-dill/

Where is your closest TJ's??? Are you heading to the States this weekend?

janet @ the taste space said...

Actually, I wonder if it needed a hit of sugar? I was just thinking this looks similar to my Turkish recipe with cranberry beans and tomatoes: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/turkish-cranberry-beans-and-tomatoes-simmered-in-olive-oil-barbunya-pilaki/

Johanna GGG said...

smoked paprika improves anything - though I have never thought of it as turkish (though don't ask me where I thought it came from!) Love the dutch oven

Anonymous said...

Cumin would be great in this dish.

kickpleat said...

I love using carrots - I'm on a real carrot bender lately! This looks delicious and totally like the kind of meal I live on :)

Anonymous said...

It’s true, carrots always seem like they’re the underdog of the cooking world. It’s nice to see a dish that features them.

Hold on a second, is there a Trader Joes in B.C.?! Or do you actually live somewhere else and the whole B.C. thing is something I made up in my head?

eatme_delicious said...

Maggie Muggins: Lol no I do live in BC. I live close to the border though so I went down to Washington. :)

Anonymous said...

just tried this recipe, delicious! definitely going to be one of my regular dishes :)

much appreciated!