If you are a lentil fan, give our Roasted Butternut Squash and Spiced Lentils, Feta and Pine Nuts a try! Amazing flavours! We are probably not the only ones who started the month of January with a renewed commitment to a healthier and more active lifestyle. So we dutifully finished off all the remaining sweets and fatty snacks and started anew. It hasn’t been always easy. I can do without sweets but I am a carb addict. Pasta, potatoes, rice, bread. I love them all. Steamy, creamy risotto that is like a hug in a bowl for me. There is nothing more that I crave on a cold, rainy day. However, the resolution to have food with more nutritional value had me exchange rice for lentils. And that has turned out to be a fantastic swap! I am a big lentil fan and have been for years. I have loads of lentil recipes on this website not only because they are good for us but mostly because we genuinely enjoy them!
How to Make Lentil Risotto
This dish is actually not too far off from a real risotto if you are into lentils like we are. The basic method is the same but unlike risotto you don’t have to stir!! So this also makes it a very easy recipe. What makes this lentil recipe exceptional is a bit of mushroom and truffle paste added at the end. I love that stuff and no, they are not paying me to advertise! If you can’t find that particular paste, use any truffle flavoured butter or oil available to you. I’ve also thrown in some kale to bulk it up and to increase our vegetable consumption but spinach will also work.
I used cavolo nero variety, also known as black kale, black cabbage or even Dino kale, (short for dinosaur), as it is the one kind I truly enjoy. You can also use curly kale. They are all good! I prefer using green lentils for this dish as they hold shape better than red lentils. If you prefer red lentils, which also cook faster, take a look at my Red Lentil Dal. My husband brought that recipe from Nepal. A few shavings of parmesan and a hot bowl of lentil and kale risotto is in front of you. It’s lean, healthy and incredibly delicious! We’ve been eating it at least 4-5 times a week for the last 3 weeks, so I’ve had time to perfect the recipe. I developed this recipe to fill the void that abandoning carbs had created but to my and Brad’s surprise we absolutely fell in love with it. Just last night Brad asked me to keep the recipe on our regular dinner rotations even when “we are off this crazy diet”. Done and done.
More amazing lentil recipes:
Nepalese Red Lentil Dahl (Lentil Curry) Lentil and Broad Bean Salad with Honey Vinaigrette and Feta Quinoa and Puy Lentil Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
This recipe was originally published in 01/2016. Updated and republished in 02/2020.
