Dancing for your dinner (or pot luck lunch!)

 

At the end of our six-week Latin Dance Class for Seniors we have a pot-luck lunch and our instructor, known far and wide as “Tony Dancer” says it is like having 20 “abuelas” or grandmas, making their favorite dishes for him.  We share our meal with much pleasure and companionship.

This week, I am bringing one of my favorite hearty dishes, a red lentil curry with spinach.  This dish is vegan so will appeal to those who are on a vegetarian diet. This works great as a main course or can be a side dish, perfect with a gourmet sausage for an alternative to “franks and beans”!

"Gourmet Franks and Beans"

The key word here is  “Hearty”!  You can greet someone with a “hearty” welcome and there is “hearty” food.

According to the dictionary: “Hearty” is: “abundant, rich, or flavorful enough to satisfy the appetite”

About lentils:

Lentils are in the legume family and one of the most ancient food sources, common to ancient Rome and Asia.  Lentils come in three different colors, brown, green and red. I like to use the red lentils because they are pretty.

Lentils are the easiest of the legumes to cook, as they do not require overnight soaking like many dried beans. Lentils can be cooked start-to-finish within 30 minutes.  They are very versatile and any number of flavorings can be added.  Because they offer 20% carbohydrates and 9% protein, you can make a lentil dish a main course and skip the meat if you like.  The low levels of readily digestible starch (5 percent) and high levels of slowly digested starch make lentils of potential value to people with diabetes.

A note about curry powder:  Look for a high quality curry powder.  It does make a difference and you can also choose between regular and extra spicy curry powder.  Madras curry is a good brand and stocked in many grocery stores.  I order hot curry powder from Penzy’s Spices, and a little goes a long way!

Red Lentil Curry With Spinach

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 serrano or jalepeno pepper, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder (or more, to taste)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15oz can coconut milk
½ cup chicken broth (substitute water if you want to go vegan)
1 cup red lentils
5 oz. baby spinach

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil.  Saute’ the onion over medium heat until soft, 5-10 minutes.  Add the hot pepper, ginger and curry powder.  Stir and then add the canned tomatoes, simmer for 5-10 minutes. Bring to a boil and add the lentils, simmer until the lentils are tender 25-35 minutes. Keep chicken broth on hand to add to the lentils if the sauce is drying out and needs more liquid.   Fold in the spinach and cook until it is wilted, 3-5 minutes.