How to cook lentils? the 5 best recipes and easy to prepare

Lentils are one of the most versatile and inexpensive grains that can exist; From its traditional cooking, through creams and even protein substitutes, it is a grain that you will not lose anything and will provide the necessary calories and nutrients for the functioning of your body. Here I show you 5 recipes that I love to prepare with them and I never cease to surprise my family, whether for daily or to share with guests, they are perfect for their ease and low difficulty of preparation. So pay attention to how to cook lentils in the best way.

Traditional lentils

Portion: 4 people.

I will start by telling you how lentils are prepared as a broth, those traditional ones in a simple way.

Ingredients :

• 2 cups of lentils (1/4 kilo).
• ½ kilo of bone or smoked cutlet (in pieces).

To dress, all chopped into small pieces:

• 2 potatoes
• 1 tomato.
• 2 medium onions.
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 chili peppers (if it is your taste, spicy).
• 1 medium bell pepper.
• Branches such as coriander, celery, garlic and chives.
• Oregano in dried leaves.
• Salt to taste.

To prepare them we do it this way:

1. We wash the lentils to remove the loose shells that you can bring, two times will be enough.
2. We let them drain for a space of half an hour.
3. In a pot we place the lentils with water, in this case, it would be more than half a liter, which exceeds the lentils (cover them).
4. We should already have the tomato, potatoes, onion, garlic, paprika, chili pepper, coriander, celery, garlic porro and chives, chopped into small pieces. We add this to the cooking of water with lentils before starting to boil; We also add our bones or cutlet (well washed because it brings a lot of bait), the oregano and salt to taste.
5. We stir and boil until the grains and the chop soften.
6. Let it cool a bit and serve it still warm.

Side dishes: rice, bread.

Lentils Cream

Serving: 2 people.

If in any case we had lentils from the previous preparation, we can transform it into a rich cream, for this we need:

• Leftover lentils.
• ¼ liter of milk.
• 1 small potato.
• Salt.

To make them:

1. We cut the potato into thin julienne cuts, and we put the lentils on a low heat.
2. To it, we add the milk and the potato and wait for it to boil, stirring so that the milk is integrated with the lentils.
3. With low heat, wait until the potato is tender.
4. It is lowered from the heat and with a mixer, everything is crushed.
5. A little salt is added and we have a cream without wasting any of the leftover.

Side: can be eaten alone or with toast and cheese.

Lentil hummus

Serving: 12 people.

This is a variation of creams that I got surfing the web, which is super delicious too. For this, the ingredients are:

• 2 cups of cooked lentils.
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Sesame seeds.
• Almonds
• Cumin.
• One lemon’s juice.
• 3 oil tablespoons.
• Water.
• Coriander and salt.

It is super easy to prepare.

1. We take a frying pan and over medium-low heat, we place the sesame seeds, stirring so as not to burn.
2. We withdraw.
3. In a blender, we add all the mentioned ingredients and it begins to blend.
4. It will be ready when the result is a cream.

Side dishes: toast, soda cracker and can even be eaten on its own.

Lentils in meat with chard

Servings: 4 people.

For lunch or dinner, this easy-to-make recipe is ideal. The ingredients are:

• 1 cup of cooked lentils.
• Washed chard leaves.
• 1 onion cut into julienne.
• 4 pieces of meat in type steak.
• 3 tablespoons olive oil.
• Salt and pepper.

For this recipe, we will need a very hot iron.

1. We cook our lentils with a little water and salt; When it is ready, we drain them and place it in our cup.
2. To the cuts of meat, we add the salt and pepper, and we place them on the grill for 2 minutes on each side to cook.
3. When it is ready, we remove and with the help of a table, we chop it into strips.
4. In a frying pan, we place our onion with the oil. When they crystallize, we add the chard leaves and the lentils. Cover, place over a very low heat and stir in time intervals of one minute. 
5. When it is ready, we take a plate and serve our chard, with onion and lentils, and on top we place the strips of meat.

Side dishes: rice, salads, spaghetti, bread.

Lentil meat

Portion: 20 mini meats.

This dish is very popular for its diversity of accompaniments. In addition, it is a perfect substitute for meat for people like vegans who do not consume this animal protein or if it is your taste to make a different dish. Mealtime is practically all day, depending on how you accompany it. For its preparation, we need:

• 2 cups of raw lentils.
• 2 onions. Chopped into small squares.
• Minced or powdered garlic.
• Small chopped branches such as parsley, garlic and coriander.
• One lemon’s juice.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation :

1. These raw lentils must be washed to remove any residue (believe it, it brings many that can be harmful for people who suffer from the colon), and in clean water they are left to soak overnight, well covered.
2. The next day, we remove all the water.
3. In our blender, we place them and add all our minced ingredients: onion, garlic, parsley, branches; blend until a paste is made.
4. We place this pasta in a container and with our hands we form species of meat medallions according to the desired size but that are fine.
5. We put these on a tray and take them to the refrigerator for half an hour.
6. As time passes, you take it out of the refrigerator and they would be ready to cook. It can be in two ways: or you fry it in a very hot oil for two minutes on each side, then you take it out and place it on absorbent paper to remove excess oil; Or you place it in the oven, in this case you will leave them there for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Side dish: these are very popular, therefore, they can be substituted for meat on a plate with rice, in the hamburger, or served as dips accompanied by sauces such as onion, cheese or paprika.