Alkaline Recipe #58: Red Lentils with peppers
This is one of my favourite dishes, as it is very wholesome, delicious and alkaline at the same time.
Lentils are not only delicious but are also packed with high levels of proteins and contain dietary fiber, folate, Vitamin B1, and minerals. Apart from that they are also one of the best vegetable sources of iron.
This dish makes a great main course or accompaniment with healthy fish like salmon.
Just try it and enjoy!
Red Lentils with peppers
Serves 2 as a main course
Serves 4 as an accompaniment
Ingredients
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
350g red or yellow peppers
2 tbsp olive oil
250g dried red lentils (precooked according to pack instructions)
1 tsp dried thyme
400ml vegetable stock
4 spring onions
sea salt or himalayan crystal salt
fresh grounded pepper
1-1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Remove the skin of the onions and cut them into small pieces. Peel the garlic cloves and cut it into slices. Halve the peppers, remove the seeds, wash the pepper halves and cut into slices.
Heat the olive oil in a pot. Gently fry the onions and garlic slices. Add the lentils, peppers, thyme and vegetable stock. Bring everything to the boil and cook everything at low heat for about 8 minutes with the lid on.
Remove the root ends and the dark green bits of the spring onions, wash them and cut them into rings. Add them to the dish and cook for a further 3 mins with the lid on.
Season with salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice to your taste.
Enjoy!
My understanding (from a book called Alkalize or Die) is that sprouting the lentils increases the pH to 5.0.
I was under the impression that lentils WERE alkaline forming….but there are contradictory reports saying they are actually acid-forming. How am I to tell which is right?!!
Thank you for a superb recipe. I knew nothing about an alkaline diet till a friend told me I should put my husband on it since he has cancer. I got on to your web site and I now know what an alkaline diet is.
Hi, I’m very confused. I’ve been reading that lentils are actually acid-forming foods. This was a terrible blow as I’ve been eating them pretty regularly along with chick peas which are described similarly as acid-forming. Can you help clarify this?
for Mischa… Lentils are similar to beans and from my mothers past experience with cooking beans (one should never add salt to the water)… In American, many people do this thinking it will make the water boil faster… The salt closes the end of the beans preventing them from cooking… When my mother was first married, she cooked a pot of beans all day… At end of day they still were not cooked (she added the traditional salt known to many Americans) to make her water boil.
Hi,
Just trying this recipe and have an observation to make.
I used dried split red lentils (from Tesco). The pack’s cooking guidelines say to boil them rapidly for 10 minutes, then cover and simmer for a further 20-30 mins, until tender.
I disregarded that advice and followed the recipe, cooking for 8 minutes, then a further 3 when the spring onions were added. Result? Half-cooked lentils, some soft and yellow, some till red and crunchy. Still cooking on a low heating and testing periodically now, but the under-cooked lentils are proving difficult to soften, even half an hour later.
I wonder if not rapidly boiling the lentils for the packet’s initial 10 minute recommendation has fatally flawed the recipe?
It smells delicious, but the crunchy mix lets it down. 🙁
Hi Mischa
Thanks for sharing and letting me know. I’ve altered the recipe accordingly, there was indeed a step missing. Many apologies for this – I really hope you give it another try!
Ross
Why do I keep reading that lentils are acidic? Is there a difference between red and brown lentils?
I would love to try some of these recipes but I don’t understand how to measure 350g of red pepper or 250g of red lentils. What is 400ml vegetable stock? Please help! I can only cook in US measurements.
Thanks
Hey Cola
You can use this converter – http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/cooking-conversions/conversions.aspx
400ml is just under a pint if that helps!
Ross
it’s very good.. delicious and very healthy
hi, Just wanted to say thanks for this delicious recipe! I’m not a huge fan of peppers and consequently they tend to hang around in the fridge, consequently i had all the ingredients in stock today to try this out (apart from spring onions). Neverthless I tried this out and what GREAT FLAVOURS! Thanks for getting my alkaline cooking our of a rut and finding a use for peppers! Happy New Year!
Hey Alex!
THanks for the great feedback! I’ll pass it on to Bibi – this is her recipe!
Ross
I too am confused whether lentils are alkalizing or not. Sources seem divided on the subject. My lentils lost their shape and became like a mush though, which apparently is what they should do, but they look better in your photo. I will cook them less next time until they are aldente and they may look better then.