What's Cooking? Smoky Staples

I have a lot of food in my kitchen right now. Besides the usual Sunday farmers market haul, there are perhaps unnecessary quantities of lentils, quinoa, polenta, and the like in the pantry. My argument generally is that these dry goods last practically forever in a cool dry place, and it ensures that I will never find myself stranded in the house without at least some form of sustenance. However, I now find myself in a peculiar position of trying to use up all of my staple grain and legume reserves over the summer. Why you ask? Well, come September 8th, I will no longer reside in my humble abode nor the United States more generally (more on this and seasonal produce in later posts)!

This recipe came about a bit by accident. I needed a potluck dish in a pinch, and not failing to disappoint, my lentils and quinoa stores came to my rescue. A little olive oil and salt, and it was all I could do to not consume the entire batch! So in prepping for the week ahead, I made another pot of quinoa and lentils, but this time decided to add in a few more pantry items ... my fave smoked Spanish paprika and nutritional yeast "nootch." Quinoa and lentils are pretty much the bees knees of vegan dishes - high proteins, high fiber, and very tasty. Plus the petite black lentils I ended up add a nice slightly chewy text to complement the creamy quinoa.

Quite Comforting Quinoa

1/4 onion, diced

2/3 cup quinoa, dry

1/2 cup black lentils, dry

2 cups water or vegetable broth

2 tbs good olive oil

1/4 cup nootch (I used flaked)

1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika

Salt to taste

1. Heat 1 tsp of the olive oil in a medium pot. Sautee the onion until starting to become translucent. Then add the water, a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil.

2. Cook quinoa and lentils for about 20-30 minutes until water is consumed and lentils are tender. Remove from heat. 

3. Mix in olive oil, nootch, paprika, and salt to taste. Enjoy immediately with some sauteed garlicky greens or refrigerate for an excellent meal of leftovers.

Catch some other tasty meals (and treats!) on Wellness Weekends :)