Mediterranean Lentil Purée
Updated June 11, 2024
- Total Time
- About 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ¼cup olive oil
- 1large garlic clove, minced or pureed
- ½teaspoon freshly ground cumin seeds
- ½teaspoon freshly ground coriander seeds
- ⅛teaspoon freshly ground cardamom seeds
- ¼teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds
- ¾cup brown or green lentils, washed and picked over
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1tablespoon plain low-fat yogurt (more to taste) or additional liquid from the lentils for a vegan version
- Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
174 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 7 grams protein; 86 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garlic in a small frying pan or saucepan over medium heat. When the garlic begins to sizzle, add the spices. Stir together for about 30 seconds, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Step 2
Place the lentils in a medium saucepan, cover by 1 to 2 inches with water, add a bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat and cook until tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Taste and adjust salt. Place a strainer over a bowl and drain the lentils. Transfer to a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
- Step 3
Purée the lentils along with the garlic and spices. With the machine running add the additional olive oil. Thin out as desired with the broth from the lentils. The purée should be very smooth; if it is dry or pasty, add more yogurt, broth, or olive oil. Taste and adjust salt. If desired add a few drops of lemon juice. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle the cilantro over the top if desired, or spread directly on croutons or pita triangles.
- Advance preparation: This will keep for four days in the refrigerator. You will probably need to moisten it with additional yogurt, olive oil or broth, and you may want to warm it and drizzle on a little more olive oil before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
Sorry, typo. Will be corrected. Disregard "and garlic" when you add the olive oil. It's ok if it's runny.
So does your comment!
Nice use of leftover lentils. I did add yogurt but I think if I make it again I'll sub tahini instead to keep it a little tighter. Sautéed a bit of red onion before adding garlic and spices which was nice, and used preserved limequats (from a neighbor's tree!) for a nice citrus punch.
Inspiring way to transform soggy leftover lentils into something good to spread on bread and add protein to a light meal. This may be an older recipe given cooking time; I agree with an earlier comment about lentils needing only 25 minutes or - to cook. Perfectly fine without all the spices and just lots of black pepper, lemon and cooked garlic. Tiny bit of yogurt really adds a lot
Greek yogurt? Don't want to assume.