Fragrant Red Lentils with broccoli romanesco

This dish is indeed fragrant, thanks to the coconut milk and spices, but it is also highly flavorful. It contains ginger, jalapeno chiles, turmeric (a spice from the ginger family), cilantro, and a smidgen of cayenne, making it pleasantly spicy which works nicely with the rice. It tastes a little bit Indian. It also contains broccoli romanesco (aka Roman cau

liflower) which is a gorgeous vegetable with its beautiful fractal pattern, high in fiber, and very delicious.

This is one of those fabulous one-dish meals that looks beautiful on the plate, fills you up, is comforting and exotic at the same time, and is very good for you. It is high in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. The dish is served with a mound of basmati rice in the middle, surrounded by the lentils, with broccoli romanesco tucked in to the lentils, little dollops of yogurt, and cilantro garnish. It only takes about 40 minutes to prepare. The only down side of this dish is that it took 5 (count them, 5!) pans to prepare - one for the rice, one for steaming the veggies, one for the lentil mixture, one for spicing up the veggies, and a little one for a finishing touch of mustard seeds browned in butter.

Have you ever seen a red lentil? Before they are cooked, they are a bright orangish-pinkish color, so it surprised me a bit when this dish turned out yellow. The color of the lentils mellows with cooking, and the turmeric colors the dish. Since the broccoli romanesco is already pale green to begin with, and then it pales a bit more when it is steamed, there wasn't quite enough color contrast between the lentils and the vegetables, but it was still beautiful. More importantly, it was delicious.

Let's get started

First, start some basmati rice. Rinse one cup of rice in several changes of water. Put it in 2 cups water with a little salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low, cover, and cook for 16 minutes. Turn off heat and fluff with a fork.

Finely chop 1 small onion, 1 T. fresh ginger, 1 large jalapeno pepper (remove seeds and veins), and 1/3 cup cilantro. Separate 1/3 of the ginger and 1/3 of the cilantro set aside for later. Also choose some pretty cilantro sprigs to use as garnish. Rinse 2 cups of red lentils. Have turmeric, cayenne, a bay leaf, mustard seeds, and 1 can coconut milk standing by.

Melt 2 T. butter in a 3 qt. saucepan. Add the onion, 2/3 of the ginger (the larger pile), and the jalapeno, and saute for 2 minutes. Add the lentils, 1 t. turmeric, 1/8 t. cayenne, 3 cups water, 1 bay leaf, and 1 t. salt to the pan. Stir. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Stir in the can of coconut milk and simmer for a few more minutes. Taste for salt and remove from heat. Stir in 2/3 of the cilantro (about 1/4 cup).

While the lentils are cooking, cut one head of broccoli romanesco into bite sized pieces. Steam until tender but still firm when poked with a knife. Melt 2 t. butter and add the remaining ginger, 1/2 t. turmeric, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne. Cook over low heat for a minute, then add the broccoli romanesco and 1/3 cup of the cooking water. Raise the heat, add the rest of the cilantro and season with salt. Swirl everything around the pan and cook until the water has evaporated.

To finish, melt 2 t. butter in a small skillet over high heat. Add 1 t. mustard seed and cook about one minute. Stir this into the lentils.

Warm up the lentils if they have gotten cold. To serve, pack the rice into ramekins and turn them upside down on each plate. Spoon lentils around them. Add a few dollops of yogurt, the broccoli romanesco, and the cilantro garnish. Remove the ramekins, leaving the rice intact. If you want to serve this all in one dish and let people serve themselves, pack the rice into a small bowl instead of ramekins, and arrange as above in a large pasta bowl or platter.

Things I'd Do Differently Next Time

I might try serving this in one big dish, depending on how many people are eating. I might also try broccoli for its dark green color in contrast to the yellow of the lentil dish. I would buy my coconut milk at an Asian market instead of the supermarket, where it is about half the cost.

We are freezing the leftovers for later. I'm curious to see how they turn out when thawed.

Cost to prepare

3+ T. butter - $.30

1 small onion - $.40

1 T. ginger - $.20

1 large jalapeno - $.50

2 c. split red lentils - $2.00

spices - negligible

1 can coconut milk - $2.00

1/3 c. cilantro - $.25

1 head broccoli romanesco - $2.00 (I'm guessing - mine came from the farm)

If you can't find broccoli romanesco, you can use cauliflower or broccoli. The dark green of the broccoli would look nice.

1/4 c. yogurt - $.25

TOTAL - About $8.00 for 4 people

Spicy Tofu with Thai Basil and Coconut Rice Cakes

I made this for an Easter potluck and everyone seemed to enjoy it. This dish is a little difficult to take for a potluck, since it needs to be served shortly after cooking, but it was ok lukewarm, too. The colors in this dish are gorgeous. the yellow rice, the slightly purple hues of the thai basil, the lime quarters and red peppers served alongside make this dish really attractive. This would be great for company.

I probably should have waited until Thai basil was really in season, but I was able to find some at the Asian market. The coconut rice cakes are really tasty and could be used as the base for a variety of stir fries. They are also a really gorgeous yellow color due to the saffron and turmeric. The warmth of the basil and the tang of the lime works really well together.

This dish takes some planning ahead because the rice needs to be refrigerated before you fry it. This is the same rice that is used in Black Beans and Yellow Rice, so it might be good to make extra when you make that recipe and use the leftover rice for this recipe. If you don't have time to make the rice in advance and fry it into little cakes, you can just serve the sauce over the warm coconut rice.

You start with the coconut rice: Bring 2 cups water, 1/2 can coconut milk, a couple pinches of saffron and 1/2 t. of turmeric to a boil. Add 1 1/2 cups rinsed basmati rice. Turn down the heat to very low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork when finished. Stir in 4 thinly sliced scallions, season with salt and pepper, and put the rice in a 9x12 pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the top, cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

When the rice is well chilled, cut it into diamonds or other shapes, and fry in a little peanut oil. Set fried cakes aside.

Cut up one carton of tofu into bite-sized triangles or diamonds. Fry it in a little peanut oil on both sides until golden. Season with salt, pepper, and the juice of 1/2 lime. Slide the tofu onto a plate and reheat the skillet with more oil.

While the tofu is cooking, stir together 1 t. brown sugar and 2 T. soy sauce until the sugar is dissolved. Chop 2 garlic cloves, thinly slice 3 large shallots, and chop 1 jalapeno chile. (Take out the seeds and veins if you want to limit the heat.)

When the oil is hot, stir fry the garlic, shallots, and jalapeno for 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce mixture, the rest of the coconut milk (1/2 a can), and 1/2 t. turmeric. Squeeze the other half of the lime over all and put the tofu back in the pan. When everything is warmed through, turn off the heat, taste for salt and add more salt or soy sauce as desired. Season with pepper. Stir in a handful of torn Thai basil leaves and a handful of torn mint leaves.

Arrange the coconut cakes on a platter or on individual plates. Add the tofu and sauce over the top and garnish with thai basil, especially the flowers. Serve with additional jalapeno and lime quarters.

Things I'd do differently next time: Rather than cutting the rice into squares to fry, I would shape it into ovals and refrigerate it that way. Also, the tofu wasn't very spicy, so I think I'll leave some of the seeds in the jalapeno next time.

Approximate cost to prepare:
1 1/2 cups basmati rice - $2.00 (or less)
1 can coconut milk - $1.25 (Ranges from $.89 - $1.99 at the Asian market, but more in specialty stores)
saffron - $2.00 (the little container of saffron cost 5 dollars. 2 pinches was about 1/3 of it.)
1 t. turmeric - $.20
4 scallions - $.15
1/3 cup sesame seeds - $3.00
peanut oil for frying - $.25
1 t. brown sugar, garlic - negligible
2 T. soy sauce - $.20
1 carton tofu - $1.20
2 limes - $.65
3 large shallots - $1.25
1 jalapeno chile - $.20
thai basil (half a bunch) - $1.00
handful of mint - growing in my back yard
1 red jalapeno or thai pepper, optional, or red pepper flakes - $.20
TOTAL - Approx. $12.35 for 4 servings. I had a lot of this stuff in my pantry.

I think this dish would cost about $18 per serving at a restaurant.