Try to contain yourself. I’m actually posting twice in a month, and I’ve actually written a recipe, if you can call it that. I’d been dreaming about something smokey, with tempeh, some sort of bean or lentil, and greens over a grain, and since I generally always have greens, beans, grains, and some sort of tempeh in my pantry and refrigerator. This dish comes together really quickly; dinner was on the table in about 45 minutes, which is great if you’re like me, and can’t decide what to make some evenings until you’re ravenous.
When I make this again, I’ll add lemon zest to the quinoa, and some toasted pine nuts to the greens mixture. It’s very tasty as is, but I think the extra elements would take it over the top.
Garlicky Kale, Lentils, and Tempeh Bacon over Quinoa
serves 4-6
Kale and Lentils:
2 tsp olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup chopped onion
1 package Tempeh Bacon Strips
1/4 cup white wine or water
1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (I used French Green Lentils, but really, any lentils that hold their shape well after being cooked would work)
1 large bunch of kale (I used Dino Kale), rinsed very well, and chopped or torn into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup golden raisins (optional, if you simply must leave them out)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Quinoa:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
generous pinch of salt
scant 2 cups water
Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat for a few minutes, then add the tempeh bacon and sautè for about 5 minutes, until the tempeh is nicely browned. Add the garlic and onion, and cook, stirring constantly, for 5-10 minutes until the onion is just lightly browned and fragrant. Add the wine or water, and stir to deglaze the pan. Add the lentils, stir, then add kale on top of the mixture, reduce heat to medium-low and cover the pot while you prepare the quinoa.
Heat the uncooked quinoa in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until just lightly toasted. I learned this method from bazu over at Where’s The Revolution. It is much, much easier than rinsing, and works just as well. Add the water and salt, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook about 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed and the “little tails” appear. If you’ve never made quinoa before, you’ll see what I mean when it is fully cooked.
Add raisins to pot containing kale and lentils, and gently fold in the kale and raisins. Add the balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, and stir again to combine. Cover the pot and let simmer for about 20 minutes, checking occassionally and adding additional liquid if the pot becomes too dry. I usually need to add about 1/4 cup of extra liquid, depending on how much water is clinging to the leaves of the greens.
When the quinoa is done, pile some on a plate with a generous helping of the greens mixture, and enjoy.
