Spanish Lentils and Mushrooms – Recipe
Spanish Lentils and Mushrooms
Have you ever noticed how mushrooms cut thickly and browned are a completely different experience to eat than when sliced thin and sauteed as normal? Instead of cooking all of the water out of them, the surface simply gets seared and the interior retains a chewy texture. Delicious.
For today's dish, I paired those mushrooms with French green lentils, seasoned with olive oil, sherry vinegar and smoked paprika for a Spanish accent. You can use lentils de puy, or the black Beluga lentils as well. Just don't use standard big green or brown lentils. They will turn to mush.
The lentils are garnished with a little salad of cherry tomatoes and basil. Especially with earthy, brown plates, I love to finish with something bright and fresh to add a little visual interest and lighten the flavors.
With just a good baguette this would make a nice light and healthy meal, or a smaller portion could be the first course of something more elaborate.
Spanish Lentils and Mushrooms
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free
Serves 4-6
- 1 small white onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups French green lentils, picked over and washed
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (such as pimenton dulce)
- salt
- sherry vinegar
- 1 pound crimini mushrooms, quartered lengthwise
- 16 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 6 big leaves of basil, chiffonade
- black pepper
- In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic with a good glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the lentils and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender. Add the smoked paprika. Season with salt, sherry vinegar, and more smoked paprika to taste. I like there to be just an edge of vinegary sourness without it being overpowering.
- Meanwhile, In a very hot saute pan, fry the mushrooms with another glug of olive oil, turning occasionally. Try to get them to brown well on most sides. Season with salt.
- Toss the cherry tomatoes and basil with a little olive oil, sherry vinegar, and salt.
- To serve, divide the lentils into bowls. Top with the mushrooms, and top that with the salad. Give the whole thing a grind of black pepper and maybe another little dusting of smoked paprika
we’re getting some fantastic mushrooms at the market….thanks for posting this, i’ve been needing some inspiration! looks perfect for a busy weeknight.
I love lentils, and this Spanish spin sounds particularly delicious!
Michael, I can’t wait to try this! I’m seriously thinking of putting my clients on a “meatless Monday” program and this would be a perfect introduction!
Meatless Monday! Great start to the week Chef Debbie!!
Nice lentil recipe Michael, I love lentils and mushrooms, although I tend to use the dried porcini only usually. I must try this sometimes.
I love lentils, I like your recipe!!
What a great idea to give your clients Meatless Mondays!
This looks delicious, I don’t cook lentils often though. It says “Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender”, aprox how long is “until tender”?
I’m another person who is new to cooking with French lentils. Will the lentils absorb all of the liquid, or do we drain them, like pasta?
@Kendra – I'd start checking every 5 minutes after they have simmered for 20, but it can really vary depending on how dry the lentils are.
@B – You want to keep them in enough liquid that they don't scorch, then drain them. (And if you ever scorch beans or lentils, just throw them out – nothing can recover that flavor).
Thanks, Michael. I know what I’ll be having for dinner tonight!
Hi! I just discovered your blog. Awesome! I’ve been thinking about going veggie for a while now. Then I started dating a vegetarian, and he’s inspired me. I stumbled on this recipe while googling for lentils and mushrooms. I tried it last night. Super easy and so very yummy! Served it last night with a lovely cucumber salad. Thanks for doing this blog. I’m really enjoying it.
Hi there, just found your blog, what a great space! Everything looks delicious, cant wait to try it all!
Thanks Shelly! I'm delighted you made it and liked it, and I really appreciate you taking the time to drop a note. Makes my day.
This looks so delicious. My mouth is watering. I will most certainly be making this. Yum!
You nailed it. There is nothing like a baby bella mushroom quartered and added to a recipe like yours. It’s meaty as all get out. Love it!
Yummy! I need to do more investigation of the difference between one type of lentil and another. 🙂
Hi there! I just found this and gave it a go! It was fantastic! Thank you so much for the recipe, it was instantly one of my favorites and I’ll be making it again soon!
http://sw88tpea.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-cookin-with-lentils.html
I am definitely trying this out. I love mushrooms and would love to see how it would turn up for me with the lentils. Thanks
This is amazing! I live in Korea where sherry vinegar simply does not exist. Is there a good substitution? Could I use apple vinegar instead??
Hey Allison – I don't see any reason why apple vinegar wouldn't be nice in this dish. Or red wine vinegar if that is available. If you try it, let me know what you think!
Thanks,
Michael
The meal turned out really well with apple cider vinegar. I also added a lot of hot sauce just for the kick. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I made this twice in a matter of few days. We loved it. In fact, I had just posted about it on my blog today. Love the meatiness of the mushrooms without actually eating meat.
Garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar and paprika… You’re speaking our language! These lentils look positively delicious, especially with the umami that mushrooms bring. The photo is absolutely mouth-watering!