French Split Lentils with Caramelized Onion and Potatoes
Split lentils, caramelized onion, and crispy potatoes make this lentil dish a hearty, delicious, and flavorful plant-based meal.
Servings: 5
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Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 6 red potatoes, washed but not peeled, diced into ¾ inch pieces
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 pinch of ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, optional, but highly recommended
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
For the onion:
- 1 onion, chopped into ½ inch pieces
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more during caramelization
For the lentils:
- 1 ½ cups red split lentils, rinsed
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
Everything else:
- 15 oz can cannelloni or white kidney beans, drained
- ¼ cup parsley, minced
Instructions
Cook the onion
- To a skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil, onion, and sea salt. Cook for 3 minutes, until the onion begins to sizzle and brown a little.
- Now turn the heat down to low, and let the onion caramelize while you prepare the other ingredients. Just let the onion keep cooking on low until all the other ingredients are done cooking, and you're ready to compile the dish.
- Use your spatula to toss the onion every so often. After about 12 minutes, you may want to add a little more olive oil—just a few teaspoons—to help the onion caramelize even more.
Roast the potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. To a standard-sized baking sheet, add the potatoes, olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast.
- With your hands, toss the potatoes until the oil and the seasonings coat them evenly. Distribute the potatoes on the baking sheet so they're not touching each other.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven, and roast for 15 minutes. Remove the pan, and flip the potatoes so that a different side of each potato touches the bottom of the pan. Place back in the oven and roast the potatoes for an additional 20 minutes. Potatoes are done.
Alternate cooking method for the onions and potatoes
- Alternately, you can cook the onion and potatoes together in a skillet. Start by adding the potatoes, salt, pepper, and olive oil to a large skillet. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, flipping occasionally.
- After 10 minutes, add the onion, ½ tsp sea salt, and 2 additional Tbsp of olive oil to the pan, and toss. Cook both the potatoes and the onions together over medium-low heat for an additional 20 minutes, flipping occasionally, until the potatoes are cooked through and slightly browned.
Cook the lentils
- While the potatoes roast and the onion caramelizes, make your lentils. To a large pot, add your lentils and olive oil. Cook over medium heat for about a minute, tossing the lentils in the olive oil with your spatula.
- Now add the sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and vegetable broth. Cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape, and bring the lentils to a simmer over medium heat.
- Once the lentils are simmering, bring the heat down to low to keep the lentils from coming to a boil. Simmer on low for 10-12 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. Keep the lentils covered, with the lid slightly ajar, throughout.
- Now take the lid off the lentils and cook for an additional 3 minutes uncovered. The lentils are done. When you taste the lentils, they should be tender but still have a little bite. There may still be a little liquid in the pot and that’s fine.
Put it all together
- Now add the caramelized onion and all of its juices to the pot with the lentils, along with one Tbsp of parsley. Stir to combine. Next add potatoes, a little more parsley, and toss.
- Last, carefully fold in the beans and the rest of the parsley. You don’t want the beans to break, so fold gently.
- Taste, and add a bit more salt, if desired.
Serve and enjoy!
- Garnish each serving with more parsley. Serve alone, or on top of a bed of greens with a side of Gardein. Enjoy!
Notes
This dish is vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free.
You can substitute a different lentil if you can't find red split lentils, just adjust your lentil cooking time accordingly.