spiced lentils with mushrooms + chard

I was looking over recipes from last year’s Natural Foods Boot Camp at Whole Foods and was reminded of this lentil dish. I love that this recipe is so simple, uses only a handful of ingredients, and yet is so warming, satisfying, and flavorful.

We all know that eating more plant-based protein is beneficial for our health as well as the environment – and lentils are my legume of choice. They are rich in fiber, folate, protein, and iron. Compared to other beans and legumes, lentils are easy to prepare and have great, hearty texture. I love cooking up a big batch and keeping them on hand to toss into salads, wraps and soups.

I stumbled across a version of this recipe in Food & Wine magazine a while back and made a few adjustments to suit my tastes and cooking style.  Garam Masala is an Indian spice blend that includes pepper, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, and coriander; it should be pretty easy to find in your grocery store. Feel free to use a different mushroom (cremini or maitake work well) or green (spinach, kale, arugula) to customize this recipe to your liking.

If you are looking for other easy ways to integrate beans (and legumes) in your cooking repertoire, there are still a few spots left in next week’s Beans class. Sign up soon!