A Story About a Casserole and Some Lentils

This is a post that is wayyyyyyyyy over due!  A few weeks ago, M. and I were invited to our friends, A. and M.R.'s home for dinner and they made the most delicious casserole and lentil salad!  I was in charge of bringing dessert. 

Whenever we are invited over for dinner it can be a slight ordeal. Mainly because M. and I (mostly M.) are picky eaters and, I kid you not, we send a list of foods that we are picky about. High maintenance, much? To be fair, people do ask us for a list. Our friends are such good sports about it though. They view it as a new way to either be creative with a dish or as a challenge. But, that could be a code word for something else. 

Our friend A. found inspiration from a recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's latest cookbook, Isa Does it,  called Eggplant & Bread Crumb Fettuccine. Since I am not a fan of this particular squash, A. substituted the eggplant with zucchini and she decided to make the dish into a pasta bake. Instead of using fettucini, she used fusili noodles. 

Our friends also made a lentil salad and A. looked into Isa's cookbooks again and found inspiration from the cookbook Veganomicon. The recipe is called... wait for it... Lentil Salad!  M. unfortunately despises (I am not exaggerating here) onions, red onions and tomatoes and so they were evidently omitted from this recipe but even with those delicious ingredients missing, the salad had great texture, tons of flavour and I could have eaten the entire bowl by myself.  

Excellent meal!

Finally, from Isa Does It (seriously, purchase this cookbook if you haven't already) I decided to make Lemon Shortbread Cookies for dessert with some lemon flavoured icing to top it off. As a twist, I used Meyer lemons instead of actual lemons. I found that the results were sweeter and less tart. For a dessert that did not include chocolate, it was really satisfying. Perfect for the end of this particular meal.

I would love to share all recipes but for now, I will share the lentil salad recipe. The weather seems to be somewhat.. getting... possibly... maybe... warmer so this would be a great salad to keep in mind to make for a BBQ or the next time you have picky eaters coming over for dinner. :)

Lentil Salad 

(from Veganomicon)

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 or 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup uncooked lentils 
• 1 small red onion, chopped very finely (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 small tomato, seeded and diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 radishes, grated 
• 1 small carrot, grated
• several pinches of freshly ground black pepper

Dressing

• 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemnon)
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Instructions

1. Bring the broth, thyme, bay leaves, garlic cloves, tarragon, and salt to a boil in a medium-size saucepan. Add the lentils and bring again to a low boil. Cover the pot with the lid tilted, allowing a little room for steam to escape. Let cook for 20 to 25 minutes. The lentils should be soft enough to eat but still firm enough to not lose their shape.
2. While the lentils cook, stir together the dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3. Drain the lentils in a mesh colander. Let cool, giving the colander a few shakes every couple of minutes so they drain and cool faster. Once the lentils are lukewarm (about 15 minutes), remove the bay leaves, chunks of garlic, and thyme. Add the lentils to the dressing along with the onions, tomato, radishes, and carrots, and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover, and chill for at least half an hour.
4. When chilled, serve over lettuce with oil and vinegar on the side.