Lentils & Spiced Nut Topping

Why eat this?

  • Legumes!!! Lentils are amazing

  • Multiple nuts, including walnuts

  • Pack in a ton of different spices and tea base

  • Mushrooms (if you want)

Ingredients

  • Black and Green Lentils (these have their healthy seed cover, red breaks down faster because it has been hulled/stripped of the outside layer)

  • Many Nuts (in order of importance) - Walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews (lightly roasted yourself, no salt!) , add seeds if you have time (pumpkin, sunflower)

  • Spices - if you like spicey grind up some dried chili peppers, otherwise grid up some cumin, coriander seeds, and peppercorns

  • Mushrooms (optional) - I use shitake, you can use anything local really

  • Make a bowl or a taco

  • Add veggies based on whether you want to go bowl or taco (you can add literally anything)

    • Chopped purple onion

    • Chopped purple cabbage

    • Chopped green onion

    • Avocado slices

    • Rip up arugula

Instant Pot Lentils

  • Make the Base Liquid (~veggie stock)

    • Boil 1.7 liters (6-8 cups) of filtered water

    • Make an earthy/greenish tea - Dandelion Root, Lemon Balm, Tumeric Ginger, Black, Oolong

    • Add dried mushrooms (water extraction, we will discard them)

    • You can soak other veggies or veggie scraps recommended for making stock (leeks, onions, garlic — careful about introducing molds or pesticides from outside leaves of onions etc)

  • Rinse lentils and add to instant pot

  • Add 1 diced/chopped onion

  • Add spices to your liking - two different directions might be:

    • Rosemary, thyme, parsley, garlic (powdered, ground, or fresh chopped)

    • Cumin, coriander, fenugreek, parsley (seeds or whole), garlic (powdered or fresh chopped)

    • Always Tumeric and Black Pepper! Binds to the oil.

  • Tiny amount of salt, few pinches - 1/2 teaspoon

Make Spiced Nut Toping

  • Lightly roast (~300 for 15 min) a mixture of nuts - Walnuts, Peacans, Almonds, Hazelnut, Cashew (and seeds if you want Pumpkin and Sunflower - roast separately since they go faster)

  • In your little food processor, add the nuts with a bunch of olive oil (3-4 tablespoons?) based on how many nuts and how much spice

  • Separately grid your spices (Ex. krups spice and coffee grinder)

    • Spicey - dried peppers

    • Non-spicey - Whole cumin seeds, whole coriander seeds, garlic powder/granules

Make Tacos or a Bowl

  • Chop any veggie toppings, I usually use:

  • Bowl - chopped purple cabbage, purple onion (fresh or marinated), green onion, radishes, tomato, avocado, fresh herbs

  • Taco - cilantro, smaller thinner cabbage (maybe in vinegar), purple onion (fresh or marinated), green onion, cilantro, guac, corn

    • Corn tortillas are hard to find that are only corn, water, salt (maybe ascorbic acid), I usually steam them in the microwave or oven (wrap in safe parchment and then foil)

Jenna Geier