Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Middle Eastern Lentils, Kale, Leeks and Chickpeas!

Yesterday I was trying to use up the veggies in the fridge before they went bad. I was also digging through my freezer to make sure I used up all of the meat before my next shopping trip. Way in the back of the freezer, completely forgotten, I found a beef roast. I decided to make a simple rotisserie roast beef. Start by stuffing the beef with several cloves of garlic, sprinkle it generously with salt and pepper and cook in a rotisserie - easy as that! In the fridge, I found a bag of chickpeas, half a bunch of kale and 1 leek. I went with a Middle Eastern twist and came up with my own recipe. Here's how it goes:

Recipe:
Serves - 3
Ready in - 30 minutes or less
Ingredients:

1 Leek, chopped 1/2 inch
1/2 cup of lentils
1/4 cup of chickpeas
1/2 bunch of kale
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
Salt and pepper
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
A bit of oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced


Cook the leeks with the oil, butter and garlic. Boil the lentils separately. When the lentils are done, add them to the leeks along with everything else except the kale. Stir well and then add the kale. When the kale has wilted, turn off the heat and serve.

Next time I make this I will probably add fewer lentils and more leeks and kale. The spices in this dish are mild, so I think it could be paired with several different dishes. If you wanted more Middle Eastern flavor, you might add some cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of ginger.

By the way, I out-smarted my camera the other day and I feel so proud. :) Every time I take a picture of my food, I move a little as I press the button and it makes the picture slightly blurry. I don't have a tripod, so I set my camera to take a picture after 2 seconds. I press the button, hold perfectly still for 2 seconds, and a perfect picture is taken. Yes! I can work technology!!

5 comments:

SONDRA PRICE said...

YUM!!! That looks so good. Definitely going to try this recipe out.

Your picture turned out great! :)

Elsa said...

Thanks!! I told my husband we couldn't eat it until I took a picture that wasn't blurry! haha

It's a very mild side dish. I think you could change it to Italian pretty easily as well.

Alea Milham said...

LOL! You are an official food blogger, when you hold dinner until you have a good picture!

I love how you created a wonderful dish out of food that you needed to use up. I am always looking for new ways to cook kale as it is one of the few veggies that I can grow year round.

Lucie said...

Lush recipe, I was looking for a middle eastern take on leeks and you're post has inspired me!

My brother gave me a great tip yesterday for taking food photos without the blur. Unfortunately it involves letting a portion go cold.

Plate the dish and let it go cold, steam will ensure a blurry photo. Then get a hot tea bag and hide it behind the dish, you'll then have steam coming up from the back, giving the illusion of hot food that's steaming away.

I'm going def going to give it a go.

Susan said...

Thanks-a-mundo for the blog article. Keep writing. Get 1000s of Twitter hashtags using Keyword Tool for (FREE)! Grow your Twitter followers & find trending topics. #1 BEST alternative to twitter search !

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