Who Needs Beans Lentil Chili

We recently read an article by Marcus Samuelsson talking about Healthy Foods on a Budget. It was not on very informative, it was also inspiring.  One of his tips is to use dried lentils.  He advised "Dried lentils retail for about the same price of a bottle of water. For very little money, you can boil up a massive pot of soup- and salad-ready lentils. A pound-size bag has 11 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein in each of its 13 servings. You'll save an average of 41 cents per pound if you choose lentils over brown rice."  Lucky for us, after reading the article we checked the pantry and sure enough a bag of lentils.  Wow, seems at times Twin Tables has a bit of hoarder syndrome in the kitchen.  We are well stocked for an emergency or an emergency dinner party.  Good thing with all this snow we have been having with Seattle! A little search through our recipe catalogs and soon we decided that chili was to be our diner.

Lentils make great chili, and unlike their bean counterpart, they don't need to be soaked first, so you can make this dish more spontaneously than a traditional chili. Also, if you cook them long enough, lentils achieve a consistency similar to ground beef, too fool any vegetarian doubters!  We served ours with some fresh, homemade bread and savored being healthy, frugal, and tasty twins.

You should try it too!

Who Needs Beans Lentil Chili

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cups (or more) water
1 cup dried brown lentils
1/2 cup tomato puree
2 Tbsp chopped green onion

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute 2 minutes. Add chili powder ground cumin, oregano leaves and cayenne pepper; stir 30 seconds. Add 4 cups water, lentils, and tomato puree. Increase heat and bring to boil, skimming off any foam from surface. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, adding more water as needed if dry for about 30 minutes. Season chili with salt and pepper. Divide chili and serve with chopped green onion.

Yields 3 servings

adapted from Bon Appetit!