Need ideas for quinoa and lentil/pulses recipes :)
 

Hello,

I'm a vegetarian but I'm trying to eat more vegan food and I have just bought big bags of quinoa, red lentils, split peas, chick peas, canneloni beans and frozen soy beans. I tried making something last night that included quinoa, lentils, chick peas, a veg stock cube, some red pepper and mushrooms and frozen spinach.... and it tastes kinda weird :s I think it tastes too stock cubey and is too watery.

Any ideas for meals using these foods? I'm dieting also so I'm trying to think of healthy vegan meals

Thank you :)

One of my favourite quick meals is chick pea curry.
Saute an onion and some garlic in olive oil until the onion is transluscent. Add some tomato juice (not tonnes just enough to almost cover the onion) let it cook down a bit, add a can of crushed tomatoes (14oz) add in some worcestershire sauce a tsp of curry paste or two ( i use mild) the juice from half a lemon and some soya sauce. The worcestershire and soya you just need a couple/few shakes. Once you have stirred everything together add a 15oz can of chickpeas (make sure you rinse them really well. Stir everything together and let it cook down for about 20 minutes on a low/medium heat. You can have it by itself or you can serve it over rice or quinoa. Delicious. Sorry I am not good with the measuements - a friend told me this recipe about 10 years ago and I have modified it to suit what I like - a lot of pinch of this dash of that.

Chickpeas:
Channa masala
Hummus
Chickpea salad (just made this one last night: chickpeas, red kidney beans, diced celery, diced garlic, diced onion + rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, cilantro vinaigrette, add salt and pepper, marinate overnight)

Lentils:
Indian-style dal!! yummm
Lentil chili
Lentil burgers

For most soups, like the one you made, the general recipe is as follows: dice onions and garlic, sautee in butter or oil in a pot on medium until onions are "melted" (translucent and soft). Add 4 c both (I usually use 2 cubes stock + 4 c water) and whatever lentils you want. Add veggies that take a long time to cook (cauliflower, potatoes, carrots), cook for 20 minutes or until lentils and veggies are nearly done. Add fast-cooking veggies (kale, spinach, etc) at the end, cook for 5 more minutes.

That method generally produces great soups for me :)

I'm not vegan or vegetarian, but I love lentils and beans, either to extend meat dishes, or in place of meat in dishes.

Often I'll cook beans in lightly salted water or a stock cube until they're just tender. Then I'll freeze them in a ziploc bag, and while freezing I'll shake and gently "smoosh" the bag around every 20 minutes or so, so that the beans freeze individually or in small clumps rather than one solid brick.

That way, I can just scoop out just what I want for a single meal, and can use them in all sorts of recipes.

For example, I'll toss them with a vinaigrette salad dressing and raw veggies (like onions, celery, bell pepper).


I also like using them in place of ground meat in sloppy joes, taco filling, pasta sauces (alone or with tvp)...

If I do overcook beans, I like making "bean pastes" with them (basically like hummus only with all sorts of beans and all sorts of flavors). They're very good spread on toasted bread.

They taste best with my home-cooked beans, but in a pinch I'll use canned. My last-minute "emergency" pot luck or unexpected guests snack is to puree a can of barbecued baked beans with some onion and a squirt of ketchup or barbecue sauce, and serve with crackers or corn chips..

But if I have the time, I'll take about 1.5 to 2 cups of the frozen cooked beans and simmer in a sauce pan with about a 3/4 cup of spicy V-8 until the beans are soft and the juice has thickened. Then I'll puree it in a rocket blender or food processor. As a thick paste it's really good on crackers or bread. Thinned with a little more broth or V8 it makes a great pasta sauce, and with more liquic it makes a great soup.

I've never mastered home-made curries, but I buy both indian and southeast curry sauces in cans and jars and use them as simmering sauces with beans and veggies (like onion, bell pepper, cauliflower, spinach... just abouth anything really).

The frozen beans also make a really good salad just mixed with salsa or pico de gallo. I usually make it the night before and just let the frozen beans thaw in the salsa. Then I use it as a burrito filling or as a chip dip.

I've even made a sandwhich spread just as you'ld make tuna, ham or chicken salad, but using beans in place of the meat (I like chickpeas and lentils best for this, because I like the dryer texture).

Thanks for the ideas!

I made falafel last night using some chick peas and other ingredients, and served it on a bed of quinoa and chick peas (Couldn't eat the quinoa though because I hadn't washed it enough and it was still really sour and nasty tasting) The falafel was lovely though. I fried them using 1 calorie oil spray and they were so good :)

Going to try some of the recipes suggested too :)

I love making lentil soup, split pea soup, hummus, dal, curry, and I just keep looking at this recipe:
Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

My friend's Quinoa salad (very customizable):

1 cup dry quinoa (prepare according to instruction
1 cut dried cranberries (personally I don't much care for them and probably would omit or use less
1 cup frozen green beans (thaw) or something you would prefer
1/4 cup scallions (I think onion, leek, etc. flavor is fantastic with quinoa)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1.5 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (I would go heavier myself).

I like the onion/vinegar flavor of this one. Very easy to modify for your preferences.

I made a wild rice pilaf for Thanksgiving, but you could use the same recipe with quinoa:

fresh pomegranate seeds
sauteed mushrooms and onions
chopped chestnuts
salt & pepper

I also make a quinoa salad adding marinated artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, pine nuts, dijon mustard, and the juice from the artichoke hearts. Alternately, you can use hearts of palm instead of the artichoke, or add other nuts instead of pine nuts

We eat a lot of mujadara, a middle eastern rice and lentil dish. Here's a version on the recipe (we don't use wine when cooking, just water and a little vegetarian bouillon)
http://herbivoracious.com/2007/10/recipe-mujadara.html

Another good recipe for red lentils:

saute onions and garlic in olive oil, add water, bouillon, curry spice to pot, boil
add red lentils and either frozen or fresh spinach and/or kale (cut up if fresh)
cook until the lentils are tender