This dish came from the New York Time food section about 20 years ago! It’s a wonderful meat-free dish that makes great use of lentils, an inexpensive and extremely nutritious whole grain.
1/2 lb. cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup dry lentils, cooked and well drained
1/2 onion, chopped and lightly sautéed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tbsp. butter
Vegetables: Mushrooms, Green Pepper, Zucchini, and others, chopped
1 small can Tomato Sauce
2-3 cloves Garlic, chopped
Wheat Germ, toasted if possible
Saute the onions lightly. Mix the cheese, lentils, and onions together.
Add spices (salt, thymne, and cayenne), bread crumbs, eggs, and butter. Add sliced mushrooms and any other vegetables you are using. Mix well.
Bake in greased deep loaf pan for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
After 35 minutes, top with tomato sauce mixed with minced garlic.
Sprinkle with wheat germ.
Lentils are also commonly used in Ethiopia in a stew-like dish called kik, or kik wot, one of the dishes people eat with Ethiopia’s national food, injera flat bread. Yellow lentils are used to make a nonspicy stew, which is one of the first solid foods Ethiopian women feed their babies.:,-,