Lentils and Rice With or Without Pork
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 2tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1medium onion, chopped
- 2celery stalks, chopped
- 1large carrot, chopped
- 4ounces bacon or sausage, chopped, optional
- 1tablespoon minced garlic
- Salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2cups lentils, rinsed and picked over
- 1cup long-grain brown rice
- 3 or 4bay leaves
- Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
473 calories; 13 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 69 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 384 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Put the oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When it’s hot, add onion, celery, carrot and meat, if using. Cook until vegetables begin to become tender and meat begins to brown in places, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and some salt and pepper and cook for another minute or two.
- Step 2
Add lentils, rice, bay leaves and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat so liquid bubbles gently, and cover.
- Step 3
After 30 minutes, if rice and lentils are tender and liquid is absorbed, the dish is ready. If lentils and rice are not tender, add enough liquid to keep bottom of pot moist, cover and cook for a few more minutes. If rice and lentils are soft and there is much liquid remaining (which is unlikely), raise heat a bit and cook, uncovered, stirring once or twice, until it evaporates. Discard bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, fluff with a fork and serve, garnished with parsley and drizzled with more olive oil.
Tip
- Use any grain instead of brown rice; you can even substitute white rice. (Cooking time for white rice is half or less that for brown, so add later.) Similarly, use any bean: cook longer as needed and keep an eye on the water to make sure the beans stay submerged in about 1 inch of water during cooking; wait to add the rice until the beans are tender. Stock will add flavor, but don’t waste money on the canned stuff; use water instead. (The dish will taste like lentils and rice.) For more flavor, add onion, carrot, or other vegetables and an herb like thyme. For the dish called Moors and Christians, substitute a red bell pepper for the celery and carrot, black beans for the lentils, and 1 cup chopped tomato for some of the liquid; let the beans cook until half done before adding the rice. For smoky red beans and rice, add 1 tablespoon tomato paste and 2 teaspoons pimentón to the vegetables. Use red beans instead of lentils and cook until they’re half done before adding the rice (which should be short-grain). Simmer for another 15 minutes, then bake uncovered at 450 degrees Fahrenheit until the beans and rice are tender. For mujaddara, skip the meat; cook two sliced onions in a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat until they’re dark brown but not burned, and serve on top of the rice and lentils. For lentil and rice soup — or any bean and rice soup — use more water, or stock if you have it.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
lcbk
This is our family's go-to dish: we use black beluga lentils. I've made it with and without pork, with and without chicken stock. There's nothing bland about it: it's mild, savory, lovely, and is a great main dish or side.
pdxdeacon
I had this recipe printed from 2010. Cooked Jan ‘23 and it was fine. Easy, one pot but brown rice needs longer to cook than lentils me thinks. Kept adding water. Also we added lots of toppings- avocado, green salsa, spicy mango salsa, etc. to add flavor:)
Adam Ross
I have been making this dish for year - essentially a variation on Lebanese mujaddara - and what really makes the dish special is to make a large dish of carmelized onions to top on the rice/lentil mixture. Total bliss using the most basic ingredients!
prairie gal
I cleaned out my fridge with this dish. Put in some chopped tomatoes and used vegetable stock instead of water, and added curry powder. We'll see how it turns out!
Zack
Next time I’ll try adding diced Granny Smith with the lentils and a cap full of apple cider vinegar before serving. It really saved another lentil dish and I think the acidity and flavor it brought is what this was missing
Betsy
A squeeze of lemon juice on tbe finished dish brightens the flavors.
Alascat
I found this a bit bland. I would have added more pork sausage, and after sautéing that and the vegetables I'd have set them aside and cooked the lentils partially before adding them back in. Regardless, it's a nice dish with good texture and lentil flavor.
Adam
2 cups lentils and 1 cup rice, and it's supposed to cook with 2 cups of liquid?
lcbk
This is our family's go-to dish: we use black beluga lentils. I've made it with and without pork, with and without chicken stock. There's nothing bland about it: it's mild, savory, lovely, and is a great main dish or side.
ME
Bland and took much, much longer to cook than recipe calls for
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