Spiced Lentils with Spring Onions
Another Alison Roman hit, found via the internet. The lentils lasted 2 nights, first with Ottolenghi's Chargrilled Cauliflower and then with Alison Roman's Nicoise-style salad. Also great with salmon. The Black beluga lentils make a striking presentation, but the Puy lentils (pictured here) do pretty well too. These are delicious! The only change would be to finely zest the lemon as large swathes of lemon peel are difficult to remove and not a hit when eating it. I need a better picture, but I keep forgetting to take one until we've already dug into the lentils.
Serves 4
1 cup black beluga, Puy, or French green lentils
Kosher salt
½ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons coriander seed, crushed
1½ teaspoons fennel seed, crushed
1 teaspoon cumin seed, crushed
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 lemon, finely zested
6 small spring onions or scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
Freshly ground black pepper
DO AHEAD: Spiced lentils can be made 5 days ahead and refrigerated.
- Cook the lentils in a large pot of salted water until just cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a small pot, combine the olive oil with the coriander, fennel, cumin, red pepper flakes, and garlic over the lowest heat. Let the oil and spices cook until the oil is fragrant and the garlic begins to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from the lemon and add it to the pot, along with the spring onions; cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Toss the lentils with ¼ cup of the spiced oil (no need to strain; I like the texture and crunchy bits from the seeds and spices) and season with salt and black pepper. Halve the lemon and squeeze it through a strainer (to remove seeds) over the lentils before serving with the additional oil alongside.
