The cooking club theme I chose was lucky foods. Many cultures believe certain foods will bring luck. I chose lentils as a main dish as in Italy it has a New Year reputation for bringing in money. I modified a few different recipes. I would make this again, I added hot sauce to my serving as it did not have enough kick for me.
Lentils are a good source of folate and manganese. They are easy to cook, can be used in a variety of recipes and dried lentils are a low cost food.
Mild Curry:
- 4 cups cooked green lentils – I bought dry and cooked
- 1 large yellow squash
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas – I used canned
- 1 large onion
- 3 medium carrots
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 4 tbsp mild curry paste
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
- 6 tbsp of olive oil
- Roasted cashews
- Wash lentils thoroughly and simmer for 30 -35 minutes.
- Cut the squash, onion and carrots into very small pieces about the size of the chickpeas.
- Heat the oil in a large pan, add the carrot, onion and squash cook until softened.
- Add the curry paste, curry powder, tahini, ginger and garlic and cook about five minutes stirring frequently.
- Put the lentils, chickpeas, and vegetable broth in a crock pot or large stock pot on stove. Add all ingredients from the pan stirring occasionally, until everything is well mixed and heated.
- Serve in bowls and top with a handful of roasted cashews
* Note it was recommended to make this a day ahead for better flavor, I made the dish a day ahead and just reheated.
Adapted from a few sources.
Pictured is what I did with my leftover lucky lentils. I added some colorful carrots and served as a side dish.