How To Cook Dried Lentils

French green lentils are my favorite. They have the best flavor in my opinion and hold up best when used in stews, salads and chilis.

Lentils are delicious and are a nutritious way of adding bulk to chilis. Check this lentil and bean chili I made. Also great in salads, soups, pastas and as a filling in a veggie burger. They’re easy to cook and are budget friendly, plus nutritious.

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Ingredients:

2 c dried lentil. Shown is French green lentils.

1 sachet devices (1 bay leaf, 25 peppercorns, 10 coriander seeds 2 broken dried herb stems, 1 clove)

4 qt water

Tools needed:

Butchers twine

Cheese cloth

Scissors

Bowl for soaking

Stock pot for cooking

Strainer

Range top, burner

How to make them:

Place dried lentils in strainer, rinse under cold water. Place lentils in a bowl big enough to hold the lentils plus 2x volume water. Soak lentils minimus 6 hours, overnight is best. They will cook quicker and helps the body break the cooked lentils down better.

Soaking lentils overnight or at least a minimum of 4 hours helps the body digest easier and helps aide in better nutrient absorption.

Make the sachet d’epices by placing herbs stems, peppercorns, coriander seeds and bay leaf in cheese cloth. Roll into a ball and tie with butchers twine. Leave one end of the twine long so you can tie the sachet to stock pot handle.

Cooking lentils with sachet d’epices gives the lentils a nice flavor. Water is lightly salted.

After soaking, drain and rinse lentils. Place in medium sized stock pot and cover with water 4x the volume. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to keep a gentle simmer and place in the sachet. Cook lentils for 10-12 minutes. They will be soft when you try one when done. (Imagine the texture of a cooked bean) French green lentils and beluga lentils take longer to cook than red, yellow or brown lentils

Rinse your lentils after cooking to stop cooking process.

After lentils are cooked, strain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking process. Your lentils are now ready to be used. Place in salads, chili or use in veggie burgers!

-Logan