a lovely warm lentil side dish or dip (best enjoyed with homemade pita bread). I even like it cold, with salad. And it’s definitely better the next day, although you might want to “refresh it” with another squeeze of lemon juice and another sprinkling of salt.
| Servings |
| 6 people |
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a lovely warm lentil side dish or dip (best enjoyed with homemade pita bread). I even like it cold, with salad. And it’s definitely better the next day, although you might want to “refresh it” with another squeeze of lemon juice and another sprinkling of salt.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups dried lentils
- 1/3 cup olive oil , plus extra for drizzling
- 1 small garlic , (head of garlic) mashed or crushed
- 1 bunch swiss chard , stems removed and sliced very thinly (about 8 leaves)
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro , minced
- 1 lemon , juiced
- 3-4 Tbsp pomegranate syrup
- water , as needed
- salt
- pepper
Servings: people
Units:
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils, cover with a few inches of water, and cook 20-40 minutes, until just tender. (Cooking times really vary with lentils, so I suggest checking them after 20 minutes)
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook for a minute until fragrant. TIP: Clifford A. Wright, whose recipe I adapted, says that the flavor is not the same if you don’t pound the garlic in a mortar and pestle. I cut the work in half by crushing it into my mortar and pestle, then banging it out for the rest of the way.
- Add in the thinly sliced chard and de-stemmed cilantro leaves (reserve a bit of cilantro for garnish, if desired) and cook another two minutes.
- Add the cooked lentils, lemon juice, and pomegranate syrup and cook until the lentils are a bit mushy, about ten more minutes. Add water as needed to keep the mixture loose and to keep it from drying out.
- Season really well with salt, to brighten up the flavors. Serve warm with an extra drizzle of olive oil and wedges of pita bread.