Double Sweet Potato Lentil Curry

 

Aaaahhhhh. Autumn. It's that beautiful time of year in the south when the temperature dramatically dips into the 80's and we begin craving all things cozy and pumpkin and spiced and comforting. Down here in Texas, there are a good many few of us who can't wait to slip into turtleneck sweaters. Amiright?? J/K. Lolz.

Actually, the weather is quite lovely in the mornings. Newton and I can run a solid 2 miles without alarming passers-by that one of us might overheat and die at any moment. So, our seasons here are a little screwy, but I accept you for YOU, Texas weather!

One of the many great things about my little CSA box, is that I don't have to think about what veggies are in season or out of season (despite the weather). The box just tells me.

Last week, my delivery included sweet potato greens, yellow squash, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, okra, onion, patty pan squash, and spaghetti squash. I was able to use three of those items in the recipe I'm sharing today, adapted from smitten kitchen and The NY Times.

What do I mean by double sweet potato? I used the one huge sweet potato along with the sweet potato greens. If you look at the recipes from SK and the NYT, you'll notice that they both used Swiss chard. The fact is, you can use any greens at all. Spinach. Kale. Turnip. Just get 'em in there.

This dish is warm and lovely. Some notes to make it a success:

• There are a lot of ingredients on this list, and a bit of chopping, but I assure you that the cooking part is easy.
• The trick is to get the lentils cooked through all the way. No one likes a crunchy lentil. No one.
• If you don't have garam masala on hand but you do have a plethora of spices, just make your own blend. See my version below the recipe box.  
• Don't skip the lime. 

Double Sweet Potato

& Lentil Curry

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

½ jalapeno, minced

1 teaspoon garam masala*

1 teaspoon curry powder

3-4 cups vegetable broth, divided

1 lb sweet potato, peeled and chopped into ½” cubes

¾ cup dried lentils (I used green)

1 bay leaf

2 packed cups chopped sweet potato greens

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground pepper

1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

1 lime, zested

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions until translucent (about 4 minutes).

2. Add garlic, ginger, jalapeno, garam masala and curry powder. Sauté for 1 minute.

3. Add 3 cups broth, sweet potato, lentils, and bay leaf. Turn heat to HI, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes. 

4. Add sweet potato greens, salt and pepper. If lentils look dry, add remaining vegetable broth.

5. Cook for 20 minutes longer, or until lentils and potatoes are tender.

6. Serve topped with scallion, lime zest, and lime wedge.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (Per serving):

Calories 220, Total Fat 4.0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium: 1138 mg, Protein 5.7 g, Fiber 7.0 g

* Garam Masala: (this makes just enough for the recipe above, adapted from here)

• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
• very scant 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• very scant 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Aaaaaannnnndddd... Finally, DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT SODIUM. The recipe calculator likely used a high sodium broth. To ensure your sodium intake isn't through the roof, I'd recommend using a low sodium veggie broth.

Happy fall, ya'll!

Glazed Vegan Lentil Loaf

It's been busy around my little house. Or, rather, I should say it's been busy outside of my little house.
So much to think about.
So much to do.

Cabinets to organize.
Articles to read.
Budgets to narrow.
Lists to make.
Papers to shred.

But that's why weekends like this one make me feel so content. Toes in the water, legs in the sun, surrounded by a family that makes it look so easy to love and be loved (no matter the drama or responsibilities swirling in the background). Even though they are not technically my own, I will always be grateful for people like that.

Salt of the earth.
(I believe he said it best.)

______________________________

So, after a long Memorial Weekend and a little over-indulging, I have just the thing. Don't balk at the long list of ingredients -- the end result is incredibly flavorful and just absolutely full of veggies! I followed this recipe for The Ultimate Vegetable Lentil Loaf from Julie at The Simple Veganista.

First of all, I doubled the recipe so that we'd have leftovers for a couple of future weeknight dinners. Also, in place of the bell pepper, I used a bag of frozen Trader Joe's Fire Roasted Peppers and Onions (I really love the layer of flavor that the fire roastedness adds).

And oat flour! This was my first opportunity to make oat flour with the milling blade of my trusty Nutribullet. If you don't have oat flour or a mill grinder, I'm thinking regular all-purpose or whole wheat flour would be fine. Of course, the texture of this loaf is a little softer than your average meat loaf, but it actually stands up really well. J and I even made "Lentil Loaf Sandwiches" for lunchtime leftovers the next day.

Glazed Vegan Lentil Loaf

Prep time: 45 min 

Cook time: 50 min

Servings: 6

INGREDIENTS:

Loaf

1 cup dry lentils

2 ½ cups vegetable broth

3 tablespoons flaxseed meal

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 large garlic cloves

1 small onion

1 small bell pepper

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

1.5 heaping teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
½ heaping teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper

½ teaspoon salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

¾ cup oats

½ cup oat flour

Glaze

3 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Rinse lentils and combine with broth in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 35 minutes.  When cooked, set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

2. Mix the flaxseed meal with the water and refrigerated until needed.

3. Coarsely chop the garlic, onion, pepper, carrot and celery. Toss in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

4. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add chopped vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes. Add next 7 ingredients (all spices) and mix until well combined. Turn off heat and cool for about 10 minutes.  

5. While vegetables cool, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a loaf pan with parchment paper so that the paper overhangs the side.

6. Pulse ¾ of the cooked lentils in the food processor until coarsely blended.

7. In a big bowl, mixed blended and whole lentils, sautéed seasoned vegetables, flax mixture, oats and oat flour.

8. Press the mixture into a loaf pan lined with parchment overhanging the sides - OR - scoop equal spoonfuls into 12 greased muffin cups. 

9. Mix ketchup, vinegar and maple syrup for the glaze and baste over top of the loaf.

10. Bake the loaf for 50 minutes - OR - muffins for 35 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving):

Calories 216, Total Fat 7.7 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium: 685 mg, Protein 7.4 g, Fiber 7 g

Don't skip the glaze. It adds yet another layer of flavor and tastes a bit like barbecue sauce. You might even want to save some to baste after baking. If you choose to make muffins instead of a larger loaf, you'll reap the benefit of a much shorter bake time and easy portion sizes for freezing and defrosting a weeknight dinner. So good, and soo good for you! If I've piqued your interest, please give it a try and let me know what you think.

______________________

I've had a lot of "AHA!" moments this year. (This lentil loaf is only one example of an AHA! moment.) You know - those little bursts of clarity that provide peace of mind and confidence in your own decisions? Such maturity makes me feel very adult-ish, but I actually don't mind growing up at all. It takes only a single second to remember that I am an incredibly lucky girl and I have so much to look forward to - anywhere my feet should land.