Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Thirty-One (Lentils Again) Vegetarian Day 4

Today, I am just rehashing an old family recipe because I am much too tired to be creative.
It's called moujadarah - lentils and rice (PS The beautiful dish (ignore the wooden spoon) is a wedding gift from my cousin Denise - 23 years ago!)

Moujadarah (Lentils and Rice)

1 ½ cups dry lentils (washed and drained)

8 cups filtered water

1 ½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ organic white or brown rice (washed and drained)

2 TBL extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 TBL butter

1 medium onion (chopped finely)

2 medium carrots – shredded

Rinse lentils, drain, place in large sauce pan. Add water. Cover and cook on medium to low for about 1 hour or until lentils are tender, not mushy. Add salt, pepper, and rice to lentils. Cook on low heat for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on the lentils so they do not burn. Add shredded carrots to lentils. Saute onions in oil and butter until limp. Add to lentils. Stir and remove from heat. Serve with plain yogurt (Middle Eastern or Greek variety) and tabouli (we will soon post a recipe).

You can also serve with PITA bread. You can make this with Spelt Right Pizza Dough (For pita bread recipe, see Lunch Box Chronicles: Day 12)