Red Lentil and Tomato Skillet with Dill

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dried red lentils, rinsed
• 1 cup no-salt-added canned crushed tomatoes
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped
• 1 whole lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup walnut halves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Rinse the red lentils under cold running water until the water goes from cloudy to clear, roughly 20 seconds, then leave them to drain in the sieve.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion with a pinch of the salt and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it turns translucent and starts to smell sweet.
3. Push the onion aside, add the tomato paste to the bare pan, and let it fry undisturbed for 45 seconds until it darkens from bright red to rust. Stir it into the onion along with the garlic, cumin, and smoked paprika and cook 30 seconds more.
4. Add the lentils, the crushed tomatoes, 1 1/4 cups water, and the rest of the salt. Bring to a simmer with bubbles breaking steadily across the surface, then lower the heat so it stays there without spitting.
5. Cook 9 to 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes and scraping the bottom — tomato and lentils together catch easily. It is done when the lentils have broken down and a spoon dragged through leaves a channel that closes slowly.
6. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the lemon juice and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Taste and add salt only if it needs it; the lemon often reads as the thing that was missing.
7. Divide between two shallow bowls and top generously with the chopped dill and walnuts.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories

748

Protein

30 g

Fat

32 g

Carbs

84 g