The recipe for cooking lentils for all occasions

Lentil is a wonderful culture of the legume family. Unfortunately, lentils are not very common, in many respects - because of ignorance of recipes and features.

Some of the most popular varieties in the world can be conditionally divided into green, red and brown lentils.

How to cook lentils? It's very simple, much simpler than other legumes.

The colors of lentils differ in cooking time: green - it is prepared a little longer, but almost does not boil. Red and brown are cooked much faster: dropped into boiling water, such lentils are cooked for 20-25 minutes. Lentils, unlike their relatives of peas and beans, do not need soaking. When cooking it does not salt, like all legumes, as the salt will slow the process.

Before you start cooking lentils, it needs to be sorted, washed in several waters. Cook, adding twice as much water: a glass of lentils - 2 cups of water. In the process of cooking, it is necessary to interfere with lentil a couple of times. There are no special wisdoms in cooking, but the result is unexpected.

No. 1. The easiest recipe for making lentils is lentil soup.

Very nourishing and nutritious soups with this product are prepared very simply, according to the usual "soup" scheme: send the sliced potatoes and the lentil collected and washed, pour water (well - with boiling water) into the pan. While the base is being cooked, make a roast from onions and carrots, tomato is welcomed, but does not dominate. When the potatoes are ready (about 15 minutes from the beginning of the boil) add onions and carrots, spices, including salt and pepper. And that's all! When serving, sprinkle with herbs. You can serve with croutons, but without them it's not bad.

Soups perfectly vary by adding other components, for example, pumpkin, pre-fried with onions and carrots, pickles or tomatoes (preferably green and strong), all kinds of smoked products, sausages, of course - natural meat, leeks, cheese. Enumeration can take a lot of space and time. Everything depends on the imagination and possibilities of the hostess.

№ 2. Recipe for cooking lentils for second courses.

At the heart of the second dishes is almost always boiled lentils, which when ready to throw in a colander, letting water drain, and then season to taste, extinguish with other ingredients, bake, that is, bring to the utmost readiness.

Lentils for second courses can be well cooked by adding onion (sliced or whole), garlic (better whole), herbs bound in bunches, spices that like more. Priesthood comes with almost complete readiness of lentils. We exfoliate the fluid and fantasize.

A good, very simple recipe for cooking lentils: fry several sausages (slicing - what you like), you can add bacon or lard, throw lentils there and fry slightly under the lid on a small fire. In the end, you can add cream or sour cream, and you can do without them. As a variety: this dish perfectly perceives sweet and sour berries and fruits, for example, plum, cherry plum, cherry, acquiring a completely unusual taste and appearance.

Another simple recipe for cooking lentils: the finished product is mixed with fried onion, a clove of garlic, passed through the press, with spices to taste, to form cutlets, roll in flour (preferably in lejzone) and fry until brown. With a sauce of Chile or Tartar - great both in the cold and hot.

Lentils with meat can take the main place on the table. Meat is better in advance to bring almost to the full readiness, then add lentils.

With lamb: pour the lamb's legs with flour, place it in a thick-walled vessel (such as a cauldron or a chicken), where there is already a finely chopped onion and a few cloves of garlic, pour water or broth and cook over a small fire about 1 hour after boiling. The so-called, languishing lamb. After an hour, open the lentils (4 legs - 300 grams), add tomatoes - fresh or damp, spices, salt, you can put Korean carrots or simply fried, red sweet pepper and cook another 30 minutes under the lid on low heat. At the very end, sprinkle abundantly with plenty of chopped parsley. A couple of minutes - and the smell will drive anyone crazy who comes close to such a dish!

With pork or beef, the method of action is the same: almost ready meat plus lentils plus supplements from the mistress-masters - and simmer on low heat until ready.

In the form of an admixture, mushrooms are perfect: roasted, braised, with onions and without it, mushrooms perfectly set off lentils.

№ 3. Lentils in salads.

For salads the green (French) lentil is perfectly suitable, it practically does not boil and perfectly harmonizes with other ingredients.

Green lentils in boiled form resemble coins. Therefore, here is the recipe for "Money salad", which can be prepared for any occasion (and without it).

A glass of green lentil to boil (see previous recipes). A handful of dried apricots - soak, cut into strips and fry with one onion in vegetable oil. Handful of walnuts to grind. In a frying pan with onion and dried apricots, add the lentils, nuts, salt, pepper, spices to taste, and lightly cover under a tightly closed lid (minutes 4-5). Cool down. Salad with "coins" is ready!

With the current availability of information, everyone can choose their own recipe for cooking lentils, this undeservedly forgotten great product!