Harissa Lentils and Cauliflower

02.11.14
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Harissa Lentils and Cauliflower
Harissa Lentils and Cauliflower

I have a quick post for you today. I'm trying to cram five days of work into three days this week so that I can celebrate my birthday properly: one day of snowboarding and one day of hanging out with my husband. We've finally got a dose of winter and in the past week the ski areas have gotten feet (FEET!) of snow. Can't pass up that opportunity to enjoy all the new snow.

I'm still talking about lunch. This meal is a typical lunch for me (inspired by this spicy red lentil and spinach dish I love so much). I'll make a big batch of grains and lentils for the week and then reheat for each meal. I love this post from The Kitchn about making harissa and while I would typically make a spicier harissa, I had a bell pepper and a half-used jar of chipotle peppers that needed to be used. If you decide to go spicier, reduce the amount of harissa you use in this dish.

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Harissa Lentils and Cauliflower

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  • Author: Erin Alderson
  • Yield: 2-3 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • Harissa
  • 2 clove garlic
  • 1 roasted red bell pepper*
  • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • 3 tablespoons adobo sauce
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Juice from one lime
  • 1/3 cup cilantro
  • Lentils
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 small red onion
  • 2 cups small cauliflower florets
  • 1/2 cup red lentils
  • 1 cup stewed tomatoes
  • 1-2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

Instructions

  1. In a blender or food processor, pulse garlic until minced. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until harissa is well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
  2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low. Add onion and sauté until translucent, 6-7 minutes. Add cauliflower and continue to cook for another 5-6 minutes. Stir in lentils, stewed tomatoes, 3/4 cup of the harissa, and 1 cup vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook until lentils are tender, 20-24 minutes.
  3. Serve over grains.

Notes

*To roast a bell pepper, stick under a broiler, rotating occasionally until pepper is soft and charred.

 

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22 comments on “Harissa Lentils and Cauliflower”

  1. Sounds like you've got a fun bday planned! We just got a nice dump of snow here the other day too. This meal looks awesome, I recently tried harissa for the first time and I was hooked. If only it were cheaper, I would douse it on everything just like Sriracha 😉

  2. HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY! Props to you for taking some time for yourself and spending a few days doing what you love. We could all use a few days like that now and then.

  3. This is totally something I would make on any given weeknight but I hadn't thought to add cauliflower to the lentils. Love it and love that you're featuring harissa. I feel it is still underused in a lot of places but it gives a great punch of flavor for very little effort. Have a fun birthday weekend!

  4. I'm on a huge harissa kick right now. These lentils sound perfect!

  5. I just love your cookbook...tomorrow morning I will try the farro breakfast. Look forward to receiving your emails with all those delicious recipes (and beautiful photographs!)

  6. Oooo this looks delicious! What do you mean by stewed tomatoes? Is that something you can get pre-prepared in America (I'm in the UK) or is it just tomatoes you've already cooked?
    thanks!

  7. I just made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing. I'm always using harissa sauce but have never made my own and I absolutely love this version. I did add a few more roasted peppers (was using jarred) for the proportion of chipotles called for, because I wanted a little more sweet to balance the spice. Wonderful dish, thanks Erin!

  8. Sounds yummy. Question....what is Harissa? And what do you do with the 1/4 you didn't use in the recipe?

    1. It's a sauce/spread that is made from peppers and I save the remaining bits to use in other recipes (I have a few on my site I that uses harissa!)

  9. I was so excited when I saw this. I love Harissa and had to try it right away.. It was awesome!! Just gave some to my friend who also loved it. I will be making this a staple in my home. Thanks

  10. Lentil noob here: do you mean dry lentils, or do you soak them before adding them to everything?

    Thank you!

  11. I just discovered you on Pinterest and have already made this recipe twice in two weeks. LOVE IT! So glad I found your website.

  12. I made this for dinner last night and it was a huge hit! After reading the comments, I bumped up the roasted red pepper amount. And, I swapped out the cilantro for parsley--a little cilantro goes a long way with me. The parsley worked well. Served it with brown rice and a little dollop of plain greek yogurt. This will definitely go into the regular dinner rotation. Love your site--thank you for all of the delicious recipes!

  13. This looks delicious and so healthy! I can't wait to try this at home. I have been on the prowl for more recipes that make use of harissa and this one is definitely making the cut! Thank you for sharing.

hi. 

Welcome to my little internet nook. On this site you'll find over a thousand vegetarian recipes, pantry knowledge, and more. I'm ever obsessed with food from gardening, cooking, and preserving. I hope you'll find endless inspiration on these pages and visit often. 

Virtual hugs, Erin (aka: e.l.l.a.)
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