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Spicy Red Lentil Spread

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 3 cups
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup red lentils
  • ¼ cup cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
  • ½ cup marinara sauce (I use Rao's)
  • 3 tablespoons sriracha, or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 green onions, finely sliced
  • 4 hearty stems of parsley, leaves finely sliced
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • Cook the lentils.  Place them in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of water over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and simmer until lentils are soft and liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently (you may have to add more water as it's cooking).
  • Scrape the hot lentils into a medium mixing bowl and mash together with the cornmeal until a smooth, uniform texture is achieved. Add the cumin and cayenne and mix. Set aside.
  • In a small sauté pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and sauté until soft/on the verge of turning brown, about 6-7 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and sriracha and let simmer for a couple minutes to merge the flavours. Scrape into the lentil mixture and stir to combine everything.
  • Allow the spread to cool before folding in the herbs. Season the entire mixture to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

Recipe Notes

  • I know it says this in the recipe already, but I can't stress it enough: you must add the cornmeal while the lentils are still hot. This is what makes the spread stiffen up a bit and hold its shape.
  • Stir the lentils a couple times while they're cooking, making sure to scrape the bottom. The first time I made this at the restaurant, I neglected that little morsel of advice, which resulted in about an inch of burnt lentils on the bottom of the pan, yikes!
This spicy red lentil spread is a perfect vegan appetizer. Filled with spices, herbs, onion, and a secret ingredient (marinara sauce!), this dip is so satisfying.