vegetarian lunch for one - beluga lentils

oddly enough, our commitment to eating less meat around here has lasted into February. and i'd have to say that i'm feeling increasingly comfortable with it and feeling less tempted to throw bacon into dishes at the last minute.

i find it easiest to eat vegetarian when i'm making lunch for myself. no one else's palate to accomodate allows me to experiment and explore new flavors. i'm also pushing myself to be a bit more inventive with what's at hand. here's the result from today...

beluga lentil lunch

300 grams of beluga lentils (little round black ones)

1 veggie bouillon cube

1 bay leaf

500 ml (2 cups) of water - you may need to add a bit more if it boils away before you think the lentils are done.

1 small onion, diced

a handful of fresh thyme

handful of hazelnuts, toasted in the pan and then chopped roughly

1 large spoonful of honey

juice of half a lemon

olive oil

soft, fresh goat cheese (mine was packed in oil with seasonings)

rinse the lentils, then cook on the stove, like you would rice, until the liquid boils mostly away - about 20 minutes.

while it's cooking, stir together a generous spoonful of honey and the juice of half a lemon, thyme and a drizzle of olive oil in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. dice onion and add it. toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan (keeping an eye on them so they don't burn). roll the hazelnuts in a towel to remove the husks and roughly chop them. once the lentils are done, drain off any excess water (tho' theoretically, there shouldn't be any) and add several large spoonsful of them to your dressing/onion bowl. stir well, top with soft goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts and enjoy your healthy and delicious solitary lunch. there will be enough lentils left over to do it again tomorrow.