Howdy folks! How’s about we talk about beans? And legumes?
Yes, beans. The musical fruit.
I love them. I love how hearty they are, and how they have that smooth, creamy texture. In chili, they are so comforting. With crumbled up sausage, a drizzle of balsamic, and some crusty bread, they are so satisfying. And in a lovely dip, with pita chips, they are so delicious you’d think you were being naughty…
Yet they are so healthy! So full of protein, and fiber, and folate! They are even thought to be helpful in preventing cancer!
Many types of dried beans are time consuming to cook, and require soaking first, but lentils are so quick and easy, you can whip this dip up in no time.
It’s adaptable to all sorts of flavors, but for this recipe, I chose to go in the Greek direction, with lemon, oregano, and garlic.
Just simmer the lentils in water and vegetable stock until soft. I also added the garlic into the cooking liquid, so it could soften and mellow out.
Into the food processor they go, along with a few roasted red peppers, some dried oregano, and the juice of a lemon.
Salt and pepper to taste, and a drizzle of good quality extra-virgin olive oil.
I especially love this dip on multi-grain pita chips, but if you really wanted to be virtuous, it would be equally delish on crudites.
- 1 cup dried lentils
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup vegetable stock
- 3 whole cloves peeled garlic
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
- about 3 roasted red peppers, seeded
- juice of 1 lemon
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- feta crumbles (optional), for garnish
- fresh mint (optional), for garnish
- Simmer the lentils and garlic with the stock and water, until softened (about 20 minutes).
- Place the lentils in the bowl of a food processor, along with the olive oil, roasted red peppers, lemon juice, oregano, and salt, and process until smooth.
- Garnish with feta crumbles and fresh mint.
- Serve with multi-grain pita chips or crudites.
I could literally sit with this platter in my lap and make a meal out of it!
I’ll be linking up today on whipperberry.com! Can I get an amen from all my blogging peeps that we’re finally getting more than two hours of decent light for our photos?!? Holla!
I’ll have to try this.
I hope you enjoy! Thanks for the feedback…
looks good and we love hummus, but surprisingly it is not easily available here in Egypt. COuple questions…I don’t have a food processer…could it work in the blender? ALso, maybe this is something everyone knows…but how can I roast a red pepper? Hope to try this soon.
Hi Julie! That is so surprising that you can’t get hummus…?!? Well, hopefully this will satisfy your craving. I’ll do my best to answer your questions:
1) I think a blender would work just great.
2) To roast a red pepper, just lay it right on the rack under the broiler until the skin blisters and turns black. Give it a quarter turn, and repeat, all the way around, until all the skin is black. Rip it open and take out the seeds, and the skin peel away easily.
Here in the states we can get jarred roasted red peppers pretty easily, so if you can find those, it might be a good time saver.
Thanks for commenting!