Lebanese Lentil Rice Pilaf

The first time I had lentils was way back in 2005 at a hippy-dippy, super-remote family camp in the mountains of Washington.  The only way to the camp was to take a long boatride across a lake, then ride a schoolbus up the switchbacks.  Obviously, moving supplies to the camp took a lot of effort and money.  To save moolah, all the weekday meals were vegetarian. I remember hearing some of my friends complaining about the whole "no meat" thing, but I was just like "OH MY GOD. This lentil soup is so amazing! I cannot stop eating it!" Bless those hippies for making so many delicious vegetarian foods.

Just a couple years before my lentil awakening, when I was still eating a terrible bagel and delicious Chips Galore ice cream sandwich every day for lunch, Bon Appetit magazine was off creating this lentil recipe. I guess they knew that I would eventually realize the school bagels were disgusting and that there are so many food options that are healthier, yummier, and cheaper.  I love that lentils are so cheap! It's ridiculous! You can get a bag that will last you a whole week for like two bucks. It's laughable! We should just fill the world's food pantries with pounds and kilos of this stuff. Anyway. Back on track.

oh good news: Steve said this is "surprisingly good." thanks.

Rinse, pick over, and drain

• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 cup brown rice (or whatever kind you want, really)

Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a sauce pan, heat to medium high, and saute   

• a diced medium onion
• a tablespoon ground cumin
• a teaspoon ground cinnamon
• a half teaspoon nutmeg
• a half teaspoon ground cloves

After the onions have softened, add the brown rice and lentils.  Immediately thereafter, pour over

• 3 cups vegetable stock

Give it a stir, then cover and reduce the heat to let it simmer for about half an hour. Season the rice to taste with salt and pepper. You need to be pretty heavy handed with the salt. While the lentils finish, bust out a cast iron skillet or some other heavy skillet. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, then add 

• 2 onions, sliced

Let the onions blacken. Like, really blacken. Some of the reviewers said that blackened onions are key. The original recipe says the blackening takes 20 minutes, so the recipe writer seems pretty serious about this step.

Once the onions are black and the lentil-rice combo is cooked and tasty, place a mound of lentils onto a plate. Top with some blackened onions. Then, you can garnish/supplement with

• plain yogurt (I lub Greek yogurt, but skip this if you're vegan or not a friend of dairy)
• fresh tomato slices
• fresh cucumber slices

The veggies add a lot to making this dish delicious! Ooh la la! Now you can have all your vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-hating friends over for a huge meal, without spending more than like...four bucks! Even homeless people could get four bucks in a day!