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Recipe: Red lentils with carrots and chermoula
Recipe: Red lentils with carrots and chermoula
The new year has started! The days in the first month of the year are often still dark and cold. We, therefore, asked our chef for a recipe that is warming and really deserves the phrase "comfort food". If you feel like spending some time in the kitchen, you should make these lentils with carrots!
A fun fact from a Hungarian colleague: in Hungary they always eat lentils in the beginning of the new year. It seems that the more lentils you eat, the more prosperity you will have in the year. Quite a reason to dive into the kitchen with this recipe! Don't feel like cooking but are you in the mood for some comfort food? Then come and eat with us.
This (gluten-free and vegan) dish that our colleague Christiaan came up with consists of 5 elements (sounds complicated, but trust us; it is not too bad).
- Harissa carrots
- Salad
- Carrotleaf chermoula
- Tahini sauce
- Lentils
Recipe for 4 persons:
A good tip for this dish is to visit an Arab supermarket for a large part of the ingredients. Nowadays, much can be obtained at the regular supermarket, but it is many times cheaper at Arab supermarkets. Think of; tahini, harissa and dill.
Harissa carrots
In Dutch we call these types of carrots "bospeen" and are often purchased in a bunch with the green leaves attached to them.
- 1 bunch of carrots
- 1 tsp harrissa paste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
Cut the leaves off the carrots and save this for the chermoula. Cut the carrots twice lengthwise so that your carrots are divided into quarters.
Marinate the carrots with harissa, olive oil and salt and place in an oven dish, roast in an oven at 220C for about 15 minutes.
Carrottop Chermoula
- 100 grams of carrottops (this is approximately the leaves of one bunch) chopped finely
- 15 grams of dill, chopped finely
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
- Half an onion, chopped finely
- Half a green chilli, chopped finely (the other half will be used later) (alternatively, to make it easier, you can also add all these ingredients to a food processor)
- zest and juice of one lemon
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
- 150 ml olive oil
- 1 pinch of ground cumin
Mix all ingredients except for the olive oil in a bowl and let it marinate for 10 minutes. The salt and lemon juice will soften the carrot tops. Then add the olive oil and mix, taste for taste and add more salt or pepper if necessary.
Salad
- 1 cucumber
- 2 red onions
- 3 tomatoes
Chop all ingredients in cubes of approximately 1 cm. Mix the veggies with a tsp of salt and half of the chermoula you just made.
Tahini sauce
- 2 tbsp of tahini
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 100ml water (ice-cold water works best)
- Pinch of salt
Mix the tahini, lemon juice and salt. This is most easily done with a food processor, blender or stick mixer. At some point, a thick paste forms. Then add the water and mix. The sauce should be a little thick just like yoghurt.
Lentils
- 400 grams of red lentils
- 1200 ml vegetable stock
- 1,5 white onion, chopped finely
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- A pinch of ground cumin
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
Sauté the garlic and onion in the olive oil until translucent. Then add the cumin until it smells yum. Now add the red lentils and fry for about 2 minutes. Add the stock, bring to boil and cook for 12 minutes. When the lentils are cooked, they automatically thicken the broth and it forms a nice creamy lentil stew.
Lentils with carrots and chermoula on one plate:
When you have prepared all the ingredients, it is time to make it all come together to be a plate "full of comfort food". The best way to do this is like this:
- Take two ladles of the lentil stew and pour it onto a flat plate;
- Place the carrots in a line on top of the lentils. Place the salad again in a line diagonally on top of the carrots;
- Pour a tablespoon of tahini sauce and a tablespoon of carrottops chermoula per plate over the stew. Garnish with some extra dill if desired;
- Enjoy the dish and all the prosperity for the coming year!
Did you make this plate of comfort food? Please let us know on our social media such as instagram or facebook!
Another true comfort food dish is the kapsalon of our menu!