Greek Lentils Recipes

DELICIOUS GREEK LENTIL SALAD RECIPE WITH FETA CHEESE (FAKES SALATA)

Steps:

• To prepare this Greek style lentil salad recipe with feta cheese, start by cooking the lentils. Place the lentils in a colander and rinse them thoroughly under running water. Drain and place them in a large pot. Cover the lentils with a 5-6cm of cold water, season with salt, add the bay leaf and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for about 20-25 minutes. For this Greek lentil feta salad recipe the lentils should be cooked, but still retain a slight tooth. Keep in mind that different varieties of lentils cook at different times, so have a taste after 15 minutes and be careful not to overcook them!
• In the meantime prepare the vegetables. For this Greek feta lentil salad recipe, you could use the peppers raw, cut into little cubes or roasted. Roasting the peppers, until slightly soft, will give extra flavour. To roast the peppers, cut them in half crosswise and place on a baking tray, lined with parchment pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt. Bake in preheated oven at 200-220C for about 20 minutes, or until softened.
• To prepare the dressing for this Greek lentil salad recipe, add all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
• When the lentils are cooked, drain them in a colander and place under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled slightly place lentils in a large serving bowl and toss with dressing. Add the chopped onion, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, olives and roasted peppers (sliced) and blend. Wait to add the fresh herbs just before serving. Enjoy!

EASY GREEK RED LENTIL SOUP RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions, carrots and garlic. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring regularly. Add spices and bay leaves. Cook for a few seconds till fragrant, keep stirring so spices don't burn.
• Add crushed tomatoes, broth, lentils. Season with kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until lentils are fully cooked.
• Remove from heat. If you have the time, let soup cool a bit before using an immersion blender to puree. Pulse a few times till you reach the creamy consitency you are looking for.
• Return soup to heat, and stir to warm through. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and fresh parsley.
• Transfer soup to serving bowls and top with extra virgin olive oil. If you like, top each bowl with a generous sprinkle of feta cheese. Serve with your favorite crusty bread!

GREEK LENTIL SOUP RECIPE (FAKES SOUPA)

Steps:

• To prepare this Greek lentil soup recipe, start by washing the lentils thoroughly and let them soak in water for about 2 hours. If you like, you can skip this process by adding them into a deep pan along with some water and place over high heat. As soon as they come to the boil, drain them into a colander.
• Place a pan over medium-low heat and add the lentils, the water (warmed), the chopped onions, the chopped garlic and the bay leaves. Simmer with the lid on for about 25 minutes.
• Pour in the olive oil and the red wine vinegar, and season well with salt and pepper. If you prefer your Greek lentil soup to be 'reddened', then add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste.
• Boil the lentil soup for another 15 minutes, until it thickens and check out if they are done; keep in my mind that different kinds of lentils cook at different times.
• Serve this delicious Greek lentil soup with a splash of red wine vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil. Top with some crumbled feta cheese and enjoy!

GREEK LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Strain lentils and place in a large bowl. Pour in 1/2 of the salad dressing, and stir to coat. Place in the refrigerator while preparing other vegetables. Add feta cheese, cucumber, tomato, and red onion. Cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Stir in remaining dressing when ready to serve. May be kept, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

GREEK STYLE LENTILS

Steps:

• Wash and sort lentils. Put them and 2 qts. water over medium heat.
• When they begin to simmer, add everything else.
• Continue to simmer, uncovered, until they are cooked and sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes.

GREEK-STYLE LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Place the water, broth, lentils, carrots, onion, celery and 1/2 teaspoon oregano in a 5- or 6-qt. slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low 4-5 hours or until lentils are tender., Stir in the spinach, tomato sauce, olives, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon oregano. Cook, covered, on low about 1 hour longer, until spinach is wilted. If desired, serve with red onion, parsley and lemon wedges.

GREEK LENTIL SOUP (FAKI)

Steps:

• Prepare the lentils: Lentils are harvested by machine so often they come with small rocks and irregular looking beans that you do not want in your soup. To check the lentils, pour them in small batches onto a plate so they are able to spread out. Give them a quick look over, remove any foreign objects, and dump them into a bowl. Repeat until you have checked all of your lentils. Then fill the bowl with cold water and rinse your lentils 2-3 time to remove any dust or bean skins. Throw the lentils into a big soup pot.
• Dice your carrots and celery and throw them into the pot as well.
• Add 2 boxes of stock to the pot and put the soup on a high heat until it boils and then reduce to medium. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until the lentils are done.
• To finish the soup, turn the heat to low. Now add the oregano and salt and pepper to taste. The soup is finished with a liberal addition of red wine vinegar, which adds an important top note to the soup. We often add it to the soup and then have the vinegar on the table to allow folks to add additional vinegar to their liking.
• Optional Ingredients: Over the years I have tried out other Faki recipes. Here are my favorite additions from those experiments. The bulgur bulks up the soup into more of a stew. Despite how successful the soup can be if you add some (or all) of thee additions, I still most often stick with the basic soup. To add the additions, the tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and/or bulgur wheat goes in at the same time as the stock. The additional spices go in during the seasoning phase.

GREEK LENTIL SOUP (FAKES)

Steps:

• Place lentils in a large saucepan; add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring water to a boil and cook for 10 minutes; drain.
• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and carrot; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour in lentils, 1 quart water, oregano, rosemary, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Stir in tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils have softened, 30 to 40 minutes. Add additional water if the soup becomes too thick. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and red wine vinegar to taste.