Red lentils waiting to be washed and combined in this evening’s dinner

Sweet, glossy, flavoursome lamb enriched with lentils and steamed cinnamon rice

Lentils are an excellent way of adding nutritious volume to a meal or as a delicious stand alone dish. They are affordable, readily available and compliment a variety of other ingredients including pumpkin, fish, lamb, game, poultry, spices, sausages, spinach, tomatoes…the list is long!

Packed with protein but zero cholesterol, lentils are also an excellent source of dietary fibre, magnesium and iron. They also contain some vitamin C and B-6 and calcium. This makes them ideal for vegetarians and also as part of a balanced diet for growing children. 

This ancient ingredient has been grown, harvested and eaten in the eastern Mediterranean for more than 10,000 years! Lentils belong to the family of pulses which includes fresh varieties like green peas and beans and also dried varieties such as cannellini beans, kidney beans, split peas and others. 

Available all year round, lentils are usually labelled according to their colour and size: 
RED lentils are actually a dark orange colour, cook within 20 minutes and can be easily pureed into soups. Perfect for babies when blended with vegetables and home cooked stock.

BROWN lentils are larger and sometimes called green or Continental lentils. They take longer to cook, hold their shape and have a firmer texture. 

PUY lentils from France are delightful to eat – as are many ingredients and dishes originating from this beautiful part of the world! These little, dark coloured pulses have a pleasing texture and flavour. Unfortunately they are also the most expensive.

This evening I incorporated RED lentils into a pot of diced lamb leg, flavoured with sweet spices and carrots. Everyone in my family enjoyed this dish, served with steamed cinnamon rice. I used my electric rice cooker and added a whole stick of dried cinnamon with half a tablespoon of unsalted butter to the brown and white basmati rice varieties. The result was a delicately flavoured combination of rices that along with spoonfuls of plain sour yoghurt, complimented the lamb perfectly. 

Sweetly Spiced Slow Cooked Lamb and Lentils to serve 8 – 10 people

This dish can be made for fewer people, simply reduce the quantities accordingly. It is also an ideal meal to make a day ahead and then simply warm through when needed. 

2 x kg lamb leg diced into 4 cm pieces – ask your reliable butcher to do this for you rather than wrestling with a slab of meat and a semi sharp knife. 
1 tablespoon plain flour
extra virgin olive oil
2 onions finely diced
6 cloves of garlic crushed
4 medium carrots thickly sliced into rounds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 green chilli, seeds removed and very finely diced
sea salt, about 2 teaspoons
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup red wine
1.5 cups warm water
1 heaped teaspoon saffron threads (soak the saffron in the warm water – do this before you start to cook)
3/4 cup red lentils – wash the lentils in a sieve first, picking out any dark impurities. 

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees fan forced. 

Splash a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a cast iron pot and brown the meat in 4 batches. Sprinkle a little of the flour over each batch. Remove the browned meat to a clean bowl. 

Add a little more olive oil and sauté the onions, garlic and carrots over a low heat for about 10 minutes. Add all of the spices, fresh ginger and chilli and stir until the aromas are released. 

Add the honey, red wine and water containing the soaking saffron threads.  Bring to the boil for 1 minute, then add the browned meat back into the pot along with the red lentils and stir to combine. 

Put on the lid and place in the oven for 3 hours. Walk away and do something interesting/useful/relaxing depending on how that “to do” list of  yours is going. I went and tackled my list starting by installing clothing hooks in my youngest daughter’s room, re-stocking the toolbox and playing outside with my youngest son who couldn’t understand why the dog refused to participate in a game of cricket with him. She kept running off with the ball.

About 20 minutes before the lamb’s cooking time is up, pop the rice, cinnamon and butter into your rice cooker and switch to ON. I used 2 cups of white basmati and 2 cups of brown basmati. 

Serve the pot of lamb, bowl of rice and yoghurt on the table, call everyone for dinner and watch with delight as the troops are silenced with mouthfuls of tender, flavoursome food.