This recipe is inspired from my childhood from an old-school Italian restaurant in my town called Francesca’s (it’s actually not thattt old school and there are a few locations throughout the chicagoland area, but when you’re young, you don’t really know any better, ok!?). Back during my bread days, I loved dipping their white bread in oil while we waited for all the dishes to come out – this one was always a must that our family ordered (and their amazing Vesuvio chicken, for another post)! No matter how many times we ordered it, it was always a crowd pleaser!
So back in 2012 when I first started StephanieWellbeing, I set out to recreate this recipe and posted it on the old website. But now that things are new and updated over here, I decided to re-post it with a few more tweaks (and a little less cream). I hope you enjoy this recipe, it is a wonderful, quick vegetarian dinner and if you eat bread, toast up some sourdough and scoop this on there, it is just deeeelicious!
Jump to RecipeI have said it once and I’ll say it again, lentils are an absolute staple in my household. They are chockfull of iron (by the way, did you know that cooking in a cast iron pan also gives you more iron in your diet?), lots of fiber, polyphenols, and of course a staple of the Mediterranean diet (an ode to my Greek heritage). Spinach is another staple that you’ll always find in our fridge, either raw for salads or steamed to be enjoyed with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice. Spinach is also rich in antioxidants and many vitamins and micronutrients, you can’t go wrong. This dish also has carrots, because Vitamin A, and who doesn’t care about eye health (I do care!).
The original recipe used a lot of cream / butter, I mean a lot. So this time around I only stuck to butter in the beginning (sub out for avocado or EVOO if you’re 100% plant-based) and used Trader Joe’s veggie stock which is super rich and definitely makes up for the taste. I also chose to go with shallots instead of onion for extra rich flavor and sweetness. And I omitted the garlic for my FODMAP friends who may not digest garlic that well (I love it, but it also doesn’t sit well) and also to prevent garlic from overpowering the dish – of course, if you love garlic, add it in! And lastly, a tribute to Costco’s goat cheese – it’s a pleaser over and over again – and yes, I know that hand crumbling is a pain but PLEASE do not buy pre-crumbled goat cheese – it has anti-caking agents and just does NOT taste the same. Ok that’s all I have to say, get cooking and enjoy!
One-Pot Sautéed Sicilian Lentils with Spinach & Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic green lentils
- 2 cups carrots, diced
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 large handfuls of spinach , I use half the costco bag of large spinach (~20 oz)
- 1/2 cup organic vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
- 2 tsp Kosher salt, to taste
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- First cook the lentils for 10 minutes (do not over boil or they will become mush)!
- In a large sauté pan, add 2 tbsp of butter on low-medium heat.
- Add shallots and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Next, add the chopped carrots, bay leaves and 1/4 cup of vegetable stock (not too much so that you don't over-liquify)! Cover the pot and let it cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, remove the lid. Add the large handfuls of spinach, kosher salt and pepper to taste. Mix well until the spinach begins to wilt, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1/4 cup of veggie stock and lentils to the pot. Turn up to medium-high heat, lid off, to let all the flavors sink in and absorb for about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat, crumble goat cheese and enjoy immediately! Mmmm!