I cooked some of the lentils last night and had about two cups left. Al dente too, just the way I like them, especially if you're going to use them later. So this evening, I took out the lentils and decided to match them with the Jasmine rice. I looked around and selected a few ingredients to make a side dish: tumeric, garlic, bird eye chilies, sesame oil, butter, grape seed oil and kosher salt. I eventually added spinach to the wok because I thought the dish could use a little more color (green and yellow are pretty together) and I wanted to use up the huge container of spinach I had in the fridge. This dish seems really greasy with butter and two oils in the mix, but I used the butter and oils sparingly.
Since this blog is predicated on using up the ingredients you have on hand in the fridge to create simple and delicious meals, the spinach didn't turn up on the cutting board at first. This often happens when I create these posts. I think of dishes to cook and then improvise some more on the way. So when you read these recipes, please keep in mind that they are meant to be approximations. If you don't have lentils, try beans for instance. Add more flavors to the mix if you'd like more boldness. For this dish, I added a heaping tsp. of chili powder from Penzeys Spices. Their blend is a gorgeous infusion of lemon peel, cocoa, cinnamon, fenugreek, fennel, anise and cardamon along with the usual suspects in a chili powder. Wow. What an aromatic punch! So use your own discretion and craft your own creations. Most of all, have fun when playing in the kitchen, crafting combinations of items you have in the fridge and in the cupboard. Besides using your creative talents, you are using foods that might otherwise be wasted, and we really don't want to do that do we?
Here's the dish:
ON THE CUTTING BOARD:
1 cup Jasmine rice, 1 cup cooked green lentils, tumeric, bird eye chilies, sesame oil, butter, 1 clove garlic (I only had one; the bulb in the basket was a desiccated mess!), grape seed oil, kosher salt.
STEP ONE:
Heat 1 T. of butter and 1 T. of oil (I used grape seed). Add 1 cup of rice, stir and toast in the butter and oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat. The rice has the faint aroma of popcorn as it simmers. When it starts to turn a golden brown turn down the heat to low.
STEP TWO:
Pour in 1 1/2 cups of water, 1/2 tsp. of turmeric, 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt and 3-5 bird eye chilies. Stir and cover the pan (or wok which is what I used). Simmer for 10-12 minutes. Check to see if you might need a little more water as the rice cooks and add a small amount if needed.
STEP THREE:
Open the lid and stir in a cup of lentils and the crushed garlic clove, scattering it about the rice and lentils. Add any other ingredients you'd like to add. It is good as is, but I wanted to bump it up a bit. That's when I chose the Penzey Spices chili powder. Maybe you'd like to add a bit of tamari or some red or green salsa, fresh basil, or ......? Allow to simmer for a few minutes and add a generous amount of spinach. Stir and allow to wilt. Stir in 1/8-1/4 tsp. sesame oil. Let the spinach steam for a couple more minutes.
Turn off heat and serve.
ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!
