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)

Lunch Box Chronicles:Day Twenty-Eight (Vegetarian Day 1 - Tabouli wrapped in flatbread)

Tabouli – Lebanese Salad - (Beth’s mother Helen’s recipe, modified to be wheat-free)

½ cup white quinoa (substitute for bulgar wheat). Follow directions of quinoa for cooking. Rinse and drain thoroughly.

2 large bunches of fresh parsley, cleaned, de-stemmed, chopped finely

1 cup fresh mint, cleaned, de-stemmed, chopped finely

1 bunch green onions, chopped finely

2 large tomatoes, chopped finely

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

1 tsp of salt (more or less to taste)

Pepper to taste

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

SPELT RIGHT PIZZA DOUGH, doubled in size, cut in four even balls, stretched and rolled (gently) to its absolute thinnest so that you can see through the dough (see picture). This needs to be done on a peel or cutting board lightly dusted with fine corn meal or spelt flour.

Pre-heat oven to 450F with pizza dough in the oven. Place one very thin dough on pizza stone. Bake for only a few minutes and then flip. You need to watch these because you want them to be flexible not stiff. You can also do this on a lightly oiled hot griddle pan (I suggest cast iron)

The result will be a thin piece of delicious flexible flatbread that you can roll just about anything in.

Mix together cooked and cooled quinoa, parsley, mint, onions, tomatoes, peas in large bowl. In separate bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss dressing with vegetables.

Scoop tabouli salad on flatbread. Roll and cut to size you would like. Everybody absolutely loved these. Olivia's comment, "Amazing! Everybody wanted more, but mom didn't make enough bread."