c/o Gemmarosa Ryan

Served steaming hot or kind of cold, this versatile meal packs the ultimate punch. If you’d like, sub cilantro for any herb you have lying around at the bottom of your produce drawer, or try swapping out the sweet potato for another root veg you have on hand. Play around with it. This recipe is forgiving and gentle, and we all need a little more of that in our lives. 

Herby Ginger Lentils with Sweet Potatoes

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 cup black or green lentils

One bunch scallion 

One bunch cilantro 

Knob of ginger

2 cloves of garlic

Turmeric to taste

1/2 of a lemon 

3-4 sweet potatoes  

Greek yogurt (optional but recommended. Sour cream can be used as well)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer, adding in sweet potatoes. Cook until fork tender (or use a steamer if you have that).
2. Mince garlic and ginger and chop the whites of the scallion. Set the scallion tops aside. 
3. Heat 2 tbs olive oil in a large pot over a medium heat. 
4. Once hot, add the scallions, along with salt, 1 tsp turmeric, (gochugaru or red pepper flakes are a nice addition if you like it hot) and black pepper. Stir until softened, around 3 minutes. 
5. Add in the minced garlic and ginger, stirring for another 2 minutes. 
6. Add in lentils and toss to coat. Add two cups of water and bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. 
7. While the lentils cook, chop up the cilantro and the scallion greens. Toss them with a few pinches of salt and the juice of half a lemon. Add the zest too if you want to be fancy. 
8. Once the lentils and sweet potatoes are cooked (20 or so minutes) add in 3/4 of the cilantro scallion mix to the lentils, stirring until slightly wilted. 
9. To assemble, cut open your sweet potatoes, adding a healthy dollop of lentils on top, a spoon of Greek yogurt, and the remaining 1/4 of the herb mixture to top it all off. 

Gemmarosa Ryan can be reached at gryan@wesleyan.edu.