Spicy Lentils, from Ottolenghi

First of all, a big thank you for all your well-wishes and messages these past few days! We're doing great, and it's (mostly) lovely to be a family of four. Some adjustments for all of us, but on the whole, lovely. Titus is a great big brother, and Dante is a great baby - he mostly sleeps, to be honest. 

I have a huge backlog of recipes I need to post, since I've been so lax about posting these past few months. I'll get around to it eventually, and of course I'll still be cooking quite a bit so I'm sure the blog will be back to (somewhat) normal soon. Maybe not daily posts, though. 

Here's a simple and tasty lentil dish. I don't really eat much lentils, but I'm not sure why, I tend to like them once I get around to it.  These ones were really tasty - no surprise since I found the recipe in a column by Yotam Ottolenghi. I simplified it a bit, since some ingredients aren't that easy to find, but it's still very aromatic and complex in flavor. 

It can be a soup or a stew, served on its own or over rice, depending on how much water you add and your preferences. We ate it on its own, as a stew. It was a good amount for the three of us as a light dinner. 

Spicy Lentils, from Ottolenghi

200 g red lentils

1 bunch fresh coriander

1 small yellow onion

about 40 g fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp sambal oelek (or other chili paste) 

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

3 tbsp neutral oil

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2  tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp paprika

400 g fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2 tsp sugar

salt

50 g butter

1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime

Topping:

150 g greek yogurt

100 g cucumber, finely diced

1 tbsp olive oil

Wash the lentils, and soak them in 350 ml of water for 30 minutes. Coarsely chop the leaves of the coriander and set aside for now. 

Add the fresh coriander stalks along with the onion, garlic, ginger and sambal oelek to a food processor, and mix until everything is finely chopped but not mushy. 

Put the mustard seeds in a heavy pot on medium heat. When they begin to pop, add the oil and the mixed aromatics. Fry on low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the spices and fry for five more minutes. Add the lentils along with their soaking water, and the tomatoes, sugar and a small pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are completely softened. 

Add the butter, lime and coriander leaves just before serving, and season with salt. 

For the topping, just whisk the yogurt with the cucumber dice, olive oil and salt. 

Recipe in Swedish

Kryddiga linser från Ottolenghi