Red Wine Lentils with Roasted Vegetables and Goat Cheese

Greetings from Singapore! As I mentioned in my last post, I've gone to Singapore for a research conference, which my sister and I will be following up with a very brief trip to Thailand. I've been here for a couple days now and absolutely love it! I've gotten to do a bit of sightseeing and shopping, and I've tried some great food so far - I'll try to do a post about the food when I get back!

As promised, I'm trying not to ignore my blog while I'm away so I'm sharing a recipe I made before I left. This is also my second entry in the Canadian Lentils Recipe Revelations Contest which ends March 19th, so I wanted to make sure I posted it on time!

If you saw my recent recipe for peanut butter lentil granola bars, then I don't have to bother repeating how healthy and versatile lentils are in cooking. They pair really well with meats like fish, but they are a good source of protein themselves and I love eating them as a base for a vegetarian main course, as they're used in this recipe for red wine lentils with roasted vegetables and goat cheese.

This dish was inspired by a recipe I saw on Cooking Light, but I ended up changing around so many of the ingredients and steps that I think it's safe to call it my own now. It's made of green lentils mixed with root vegetables that are roasted in a red wine dressing, then the whole thing is mixed with a really flavourful red wine sauce and topped with a bit of crumbled goat cheese. The result is a truly delicious dish with an earthy flavour from the lentils and vegetables that's deepened by the red wine sauce but brightened up by the bits of tangy goat cheese.

I know this dish wouldn't win any beauty awards looks-wise (and it doesn't help that it was getting dark at the time I tried to photograph it), but despite its looks, you have to trust me that this really is a wonderful dish! What amazes me most about it is how it actually reminds of me meat - every time I heated up leftovers in the microwave, I could have sworn I could smell steak, probably because of the red wine sauce. That also makes me think that this would be a great dish to introduce skeptical meat eaters to vegetarian proteins like lentils. I gave some of my leftovers to my meat-eating boyfriend who has never had lentils before, and to my vegetarian sister who's quite familiar with them, and they both loved it!

The ingredients list may look a little intimidating, but a lot of the items are actually pantry staples (I only needed to buy carrots, parsnips, beets, tarragon, and goat cheese), and the recipe isn't difficult to prepare if you time all the steps right. I've tried to write the recipe directions in a way that makes it easy to know exactly when to do everything so that the dish will come together quickly and easily.

As with my lentil granola bars, if you want to help me out with this entry to the Canadian Lentils contest, feel free to leave me a comment on this blog post or head over to my post on the Canadian Lentils Facebook page to 'like' it. As the contest is now coming to a close, you'll also be able to find lots of other entries on their page, so be sure to check them all out if you're interested in finding more recipes using lentils! Thanks guys! :)

Red Wine Lentils with Roasted Vegetables and Goat Cheese

Inspired by Cooking Light

Serves about 4-5

Ingredients:

For the roasted vegetables:

1 cup yellow pearl onions, ends trimmed and peeled
12 oz chopped peeled carrots (about 2 to 3 large carrots)
8 oz chopped peeled parsnips (about 1 to 2 parsnips)
12 oz beets (about 4-5 medium beets), peeled and chopped
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon

For the lentils:

3 cups water
1-1/2 cups dry green lentils

For the red wine sauce:

1/2 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
½ a vegetable bouillon cube
Salt and pepper

For topping:

4 oz crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F and line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Chop all the vegetables (pearl onions, carrots, parnsnips, and beets) into small, even pieces, about ½” thick, and transfer to a large bowl along with the garlic cloves. Mix the red wine, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and tarragon in a small bowl, then pour over the vegetables and toss to coat. Transfer the vegetables to the baking sheet, place in the preheated oven, and set the timer for 40 minutes.

When there are 30 minutes left on the timer, combine the lentils and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the water reaches a boil, reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 25 minutes (which should be the remainder of the time left on the vegetables).

Chop the onion and garlic and prepare ingredients for red wine sauce.

When there are 15 minutes left on the timer, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Once hot, add the onions and garlic, and sauté until softened and golden brown, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomato paste, thyme, and tarragon, and stir for another minute. Add the red wine, water, and bouillon cube, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer about 5 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

At this time, your lentils and vegetables should be done cooking. Check both, and allow to cook longer if they’re still hard. Otherwise, combine the lentils, vegetables, and red wine sauce and stir together.

Divide into bowls, top each serving with about 1 ounce of crumbled goat cheese (or more, if desired), and season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve warm.

Sweet Potato, Kale, and Cranberry Quinoa Salad

After the Toblerone cheesecake bars I last posted, I felt obligated to share something a little more on the healthy side today!

Quinoa has become a very popular “superfood” in the last few years, and there’s a ton of info out there about its nutritional value so I won’t repeat it all here (but check out this link if you want a quick overview). Quinoa’s one of my favourite things to cook with because it’s so versatile and works great in big batches of healthy dishes that I can eat throughout the week for healthy and energizing lunches or dinners.

While this dish isn’t a revolutionary new way to eat quinoa or anything, it’s a really tasty and healthy meal that makes a great addition to your repertoire of quinoa recipes. Protein-rich quinoa is combined with even more nutritious ingredients like sweet potatoes and kale, with some pearl onions and cranberries thrown in for added sweetness and texture.

I loved the combination of all those ingredients, but the balsamic dressing really tied it all together and soaked right into the quinoa to boost the flavour of the dish even more. I love adding flavourful dressings to dishes like this, but if you aren't a big fan of balsamic or find it overpowering, you may want to start by adding less of the dressing and tasting it to make sure you add the amount that suits your taste.

A sprinkle of pecans on top added the perfect finishing crunch to the dish (I recommend adding them individually to each serving so that they don’t get soggy). And if you wanted this to pack even more of a "superfood" punch, I bet pomegranate seeds in place of cranberries would be a great substitution!

I actually made this back in December when I wanted to have a big bowl of something healthy on hand for the holiday madness, and my sister and I loved grabbing servings of it for lunches for at least a week. Even Ryan, who is usually pretty skeptical of “healthy food”, enjoyed it for a few lunches himself too. So whether you’re a quinoa lover or skeptic, you’ll love this easy and satisfying dish!

Sweet Potato, Kale, and Cranberry Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Dressing

Adapted from Domestic Fits

Serves at least 4 as a main, or serves a crowd as a side

Ingredients:

For the quinoa:

1 package quinoa, about 3-4 cups cooked
2 medium to large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups pearl onions
1 bunch of kale, leaves finely chopped
2/3 cup dried cranberries

For the dressing:

1 large shallot, minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Optional add-in: 1/4 to 1/2 cup pecans

Directions:

Cook the quinoa according to package directions.

Cook the sweet potatoes in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until tender, about 7-10 minutes. Drain.

Cook the pearl onions in a medium pot of boiling water for 5-7 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. Cut off the ends, peel the outer layer, then chop the onions.

If desired, blanch the kale in a pot of simmering water for one minute, then drain. I prefer the kale this way rather than raw, but you can leave it raw if you like.

In a small bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. If serving the entire amount at once, mix the pecans in along with all the other ingredients. If planning to have leftovers, add the pecans before serving so they don’t get soggy.

*Keep leftovers refrigerated. Can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature - I enjoyed it each way!