Simple Spinach and Lentils with Rice and Quinoa

I know I like to make a lot of dishes that involve multiple ingredients, lots of prep and lots of pots and pans.  But, sometimes I want something super simple, but hearty, and tonight was one of those nights.

I had leftover golden lentils in the fridge, so I decided to do something with them.  I also picked up a big container of baby spinach after yoga (we go through two containers a week here), and decided I would incorporate that in the dish as well.

To start the dish, I sauteed some minced shallots in Earth Balance.  I then added some tomato paste concentrate.  When the brown bits started to appear in the pan, I added a couple of pours of vegetable broth.  I used Safeway Organic brand, which, unlike some other boxed broths, doesn't contain soy. Pacific Organic's vegetable broth is also soy-free.

I then added a few handfuls of the cooked lentils.  As the lentils integrated with the sauce, I futzed a bit with the dish, adding vegetable broth as I thought it needed more liquid, and tomato paste as it needed more color.  I then added several handfuls of roughly chopped baby spinach.  As the spinach wilted, I added even more to get even more green into the dish.

To season the lentils & spinach, I added some freshly ground black pepper and a few drops of sriracha, a Thai hot sauce that has become pretty trendy over the past few years. It's made of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Some srirachas have fish sauce as an ingredient, but the one we use, which is made by Huy Fong Foods, does not.  

Despite the fact that there was salt in the vegetable broth and and in the sriracha, I decided it would benefit from a little bit of sea salt, so I stirred some in.

I wanted some sort of grain to go with the dish, but I hadn't cooked any up in advance.  Situations like this call for microwave bagged rice.  While some microwave bagged rices and grain mixes aren't veg friendly or have lots of unnecessary additives and tons of sodium, I have found a few I like courtesy of Seeds of Change and Safeway Select.  Tonight, I opted for Safeway Select Brown & Wild Rice with Quinoa.  90 seconds in the microwave and, voila, rice

I put the rice in a bowl and then ladled in some of the spinach & lentil mixture and gave it a quick stir.  I was so happy with this dish.  The sriracha had a nice heat that pleasantly snuck up on me, and I loved the texture and combination of flavors.  The warm lentils, rice & quinoa and spinach were very filling and satisfying, the perfect dish for a cold, winter day. 

Golden Lentil Cakes and Rainbow Carrot Coins

The new Whole Foods that has opened by my office has become a fun place for me to play during my lunch hour.  I am especially enjoying the bulk aisle and wondering why I haven't spent more time there.  Not only is the pricing better than the packaged goods, but I can control the quantity of food that I buy and only buy the amount I need for any given cooking experiment.  Also, the variety is excellent.

This week's bulk aisle find for me were petite golden lentils, which are teeny tiny little lentils with a bright yellow hue.  When I googled them to get ideas, I mostly came up with soups, but I decided to do something a little different.

Since the lentils were so tiny, I thought it might be fun to mix them with a bunch of veggies and form a patty.   Since I was craving stuffing today for some reason, I decided to also incorporate the flavors I associate with that dish, namely celery and sage.

While I normally just describe what I cook, I actually put together some semblance of a recipe this time, which I will post below after a few notes.

One thing I did do here in 1)the name of experimentation and 2)to keep this recipe vegan, was to use Ener-G Egg Replacer as a binder.   This product is a mix of potato starch and tapioca starch, and, when mixed with warm water in the correct ratio, can function as an egg for both cooking and baking.  Thus, it's a great option for folks who are allergic to eggs, vegan or who prefer not to eat eggs.  I actually found it to be a more reliable binder than using a real egg - my patties held together quite well!

Unfortunately, the local market was out of fresh sage, so I made do with ground.

I also made a pan sauce for the patties to add additional moisture using the leftover sauteed veg, a minced shallot, vegan bouillon and lots of soy-free Earth Balance.  The brand of bouillon I used was Rapunzel, which is one of the few bouillon cubes I've found that's soy-free.

As a side dish, I made rainbow carrot coins.  My local market was selling bunches of orange, yellow, red and purple carrots, which I thought would be a fun side for the patties.  While they lost some of their vibrant color when I peeled them (especially the purple ones), they were still pretty.  I sliced them in to coins, mixed them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted them for 30 minutes at 425.

And, without further ado, here's my lentil cake recipe!

Golden Lentil Cakes

 Makes 12 cakes (3-4 cakes per serving)


For the cakes:
 
2 cups of cooked petite golden lentils (For a lesson on preparing cooking lentils, click here)
3 small leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
4 celery ribs, minced
1 cup of grated carrot, chopped
Ground or fresh sage, to taste
Fresh thyme to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
2+ tablespoons of Earth Balance
1 cup of whole wheat panko bread crumbs
2.5 tsp Energ-G Egg Replacer plus 2 tbsp warm water (2 eggs, beaten, can also be substituted)
Cooking spray

For the sauce:

1 cube of vegan bouillon

1/2 large shallot, minced
3+ tablespoons of Earth Balance
Fresh parsley, chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Saute the lentils, celery and carrot in earth balance for 10 minutes, or until translucent.  Season throughout cooking with sage, thyme, salt and pepper.  Spoon cooked vegetable mixture into a bowl and set aside Reserve the same pan, including any stuck on cooked bits, for your sauce.


In a small pot, boil two cups of water.  Add in bouillon cube, stir and remove from heat.  Take the pan you cooked the vegetables in and add shallot and one tablespoon of the Earth Balance.  When shallot is lightly browned, pour bouillon into the pan and cook on medium heat.  Stir in more Earth Balance and fresh parsley throughout cooking, until sauce reduces (Mine took about 30 minutes to get where I wanted it.)

Meanwhile, if using Ener-G, combine the powder and water in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.  Combine lentils, cooked vegetables, fresh parsley and panko.  Stir in Egg Replacer or eggs.  Form the mixture into small cakes.   Spray a large saute pan with cooking spray.  On medium high heat, brown each side of the cakes (about 3 minutes per side - your mileage may vary.  Cook a bit longer if using egg to ensure it cooks through).  Once cakes are browned, put them in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Serve warm, with sauce spooned over top.