Lentils with caramelized onions + gingery spinach

and The Underpants Gnomes Theory of Weight Loss:*

1) Eat, torturously
2) …
3) Look great!!!**

Moody Food does not do diets. We’re sure they work for lots of people; we just don’t know any of them. And Moody Food is unfortunately not Catholic. We don’t believe in guilt as a useful disincentive or incentive or whatever it’s supposed to be when people talk of guilty pleasures and indulgences and the like. Guilt makes people gorge themselves on worthless items late at night. (We know this because we did it once.) Know what you want, we say, and eat it too.  No reason to feel bad about it.

This is not to say that MF is averse to common sense. A set of eating habits based around plants is better for health and waist lines—not to mention carbon footprints—than one based on ingredients higher up the food chain. If this does not seem intuitive to you, please rest assured that there is much science behind it. (And this might be a good place to start.) The following preparation is indeed plant-based and has so much healthiness it almost makes me sick. But it happens to be spectacular. Different tones of earthiness from the lentils and the spinach, sweetness from the onions, pungency from the garlic, a variety of spice from dried chiles, cayenne pepper + ginger, acidity from the lemon, and a little cooldown from the yogurt lend this dish a perfect, perfect balance. As with the last post, this dish is cooked with ingredients one often already has on hand. Most nice things in life are cheap, fast, or good (pick two). This one is all three.

* Expressions of which may be found here and here and here and here and, oh, I could go on.
** For those unfamiliar with the Underpants Gnomes and their phenomenal business plan, please refer to this site.

Lentils with caramelized onions + gingery spinach

I have a strong preference for Puy lentils (also called lentilles du Puy), which are a very dark green and quite small. They have a delicate flavor and don’t get mushy during cooking, leading to a nicer texture and (usually) a prettier presentation. Sadly, I’m not sure this dish can ever be made pretty.

Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian

1 big onion  |  4 T olive oil  |  salt + pepper  |  3 cloves garlic, chopped  |  2 big pinches chile flakes  |  1 cup green lentils, preferably Puy  |  1 inch piece fresh ginger  |  1 big bag (1 lb, 500 g) frozen spinach  |  cayenne pepper  |  spoonfuls of plain yogurt  |  zest from 1 lemon

Halve the onion through the root, peel off the papery skins, and slice thinly. Heat 2 T olive oil over medium heat in a big shallow pan. When it is hot, add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring from time to time until well-caramelized, turning the heat down if necessary. This will take 20-25 minutes. When they are finished, scrape them onto paper towels to drain.

Meanwhile, heat 1 T olive oil in a pot set over medium heat. When hot, drop the garlic and chile flakes into the oil and let fry for about a minute. Add the lentils and 2½ cups water. Cover and bring to a boil, then partially cover, and turn the heat down so it simmers happily until done. For Puy lentils, this will take 15-20 minutes. When cooking is nearly done, season with about 1 t of kosher salt.

Finally, heat the last T olive oil in yet another pot over medium heat and grate the ginger into it. When you are finished, let it fry for another 30 seconds, then add all the spinach, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and a bigger pinch of salt. Clap on the lid. Turn down the heat, and let the spinach steam in its own moisture, stirring from time to time.

To serve, get the lentils, spinach, caramelized onions, a spoonful of yogurt, and a grating of lemon zest onto a plate. Please try to think of something prettier than what I did, and then tell me about it.

Serves 3-4