Rosemary and Sage Brown Lentils

Brown lentils are one of the legumes I like to always have on hand, and I wanted to try a new flavor combination with them. I had the idea of rosemary and sage from my Thanksfiving stuffing recipe. I used the flavors of a mirepoix (onion, celery, and carrot) plus the seasonings of garlic, rosemary, sage, and black pepper to round out the flavors. This turned out so delicious, and I now have another amazing bean dish in my repertoire. 

I also like to add frozen greens to this recipe (either spinach or kale or both) to enchance the nutritional value. It's a great dish to sneak in some greens, but it can also be made without them.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced or shredded carrot (I prefer shredded because it cooks faster)
• 1/2 cup frozen greens (optional) 
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary 
• 1/2 tsp dried sage 
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup dried brown lentils washed and drained
• 2.5 cups vegetable or chicken broth

Directions

• Sautee veggies until soft.
• Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil
• Reduce to simmer, cover pot, and cook for 60-75 minutes depending on desired texture.
• The veggies will become quite soft this way given the long cook time. If you want, you can saute the veggies at the end and add them to the legumes, or add the veggies in the middle of cooking of the legumes. You can't sautee them this way but they won't become so mushy and their flavors will still impart into the dish.