French Lentils

Protein Power Lentils & Amaranth Patties

Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentils
• ½ cup amaranth
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 Tbsps ground flax seeds + 3 Tbsps water (or one large egg)
• 4 Tbsps nutritional yeast
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• some sliced black olives (optional, but recommended)
• salt and ground pepper, to taste
• some oil

Instructions

1. Mix the ground flax and water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
2. Add red lentils and amaranth in a pot. Cover with water and boil for 15 minutes. Strain them.
3. Put them in a large bowl and blend in all the other ingredients, except oil. If the composition is too moist, add more breadcrumbs. The patties should be easy to form.
4. Heat some oil in a non-stick frying pan.
5. Make the patties – 1 Tbsps per patty.
6. Fry them 2 minutes on each side.
7. Put the amaranth patties on a plate covered with a paper towel, in order to absorb all excess oil.

Recipe Source: www.gourmandelle.com

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup cooked lentils
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 8 oz. button mushrooms
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/3 tsp chili paprika
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 4 cups mashed potatoes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Sauté the onion and garlic with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent.
2. Peel and dice the carrots, dice the celery, and slice the mushrooms. Add the carrots and celery to the skillet and continue to sauté until the celery begins to soften slightly.
3. Finally, add the mushrooms, salt, thyme, chili paprika, and freshly cracked pepper to the skillet. Continue to sauté until the mushrooms have fully softened. Add the tomato paste and flour to the skillet. Stir and cook the vegetables with the flour and tomato paste.
4. Add the vegetable broth to the skillet, stirring to dissolve the flour and tomato paste from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the cooked lentils and frozen peas, and allow to mixture to heat through.
5. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Pour the vegetable mixture into a casserole dish. Spread the mashed potatoes out over the surface of the vegetables and gravy. Use your spoon to make a decorative pattern in the mashed potatoes, if desired.
6. Bake the shepherd’s pie in the fully preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!