Vegetarian lentils

Having a vegetarian daughter, I'm always concerned that she will have all the proteins she needs for a proper nutrition. One of the things I started doing differently was to cook more beans. My mom used to cook them a lot when I was a child: they are cheap, they keep in the pantry a long time, and they are nutritious, what is not to like?

Lentils are a great starter bean, because they are soft and flavorful, with little rinsing and no soaking required. I learned to season all beans with onion, garlic, salt and pepper, but each bean typically has one or two additional complements. For lentils, it's tomato.

Speaking of seasoning, many people feel beans are not complete without a piece of pork (hence the name of this post). While it is true that the result is great, it obviously doesn't work for me, which is why this recipe is made with vegetable buillon. It's easy to find and works as well as chicken or beef broth.

My go-to in Italy, but you can find your alternative wherever you are

Ingredients

• 1 lb or 500 gr of lentils
• 2 tbs corn or canola oil
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 roma tomatoes (optional)
• 1 tbs vegetable buillon

Preparation

Cut up the onions, garlic and tomatoes in chunks and set them aside.

Pour the lentils in a medium or large pot. Cover with water, massage with your fingers the lentils to remove the dust. Little pieces will float to the surface, pour out the water to flush them out. Cover with water again, about 4 times the volume of the lentils. Don't worry that it will be too much water, beans absorb water as they cook, you will not be left with a watery mess. Bring it all to a boil, then lower the temperature and let it simmer.

As the lentil simmer, heat oil in a medium pan at medium-high power. Add the onions and garlic, and let them cook stirring every once in a while. After about 10 minutes, the onions will become translucent, pour the mix into the lentil soup. Add also the tomatoes and the buillion.

Continue simmering until the total approaches 20 minutes. Taste the lentils and continue cooking until they are soft, add salt if needed. Serve alone or over rice.

Simplify further: if you are short on time or hands, add the onions and garlic to the water to let them cook together with the lentils.

Also try: Add carrots and celery for a heartier soup. Since cooking time is so short, make sure you cut them into small cubes and add them at the beginning, to give them time to soften.