BBQ Lentils with Roasted Root Vegetables

A note from Erin: Happy Monday! Today’s my last day in Hawaii. 🙁 While I’m bummed to be leaving Paradise I’m excited for you guys because I’ve got a treat for you today! Hannah from Clean Eating Veggie Girl is one of my good friends, and one fantastic cook. Seriously, this girl needs her own cooking show. She makes healthy, veggie meals tasty and fun. I’ve learned so much from her and know you guys are going to love the recipe she’s sharing today. I’m so grateful she agreed to guest post and really recommend you guys check out her blog. Take it away Hannah!

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Hi Girl Gone Veggie readers! My name is Hannah and I blog over at Clean Eating Veggie Girl. I might look familiar to some of you since Erin and I are real life friends and cook together in our new monthly cooking series, Three Cooks One Kitchen. Erin and I met almost a year ago when I reached out to her through the blogosphere after she mentioned that she would be moving here to Omaha- approximately six months after I had. She became my first real friend here and through our friendship we have connected one another to several of our other friends here in this wonderful city. I am and will forever be grateful for our friendship and all that Erin has taught me- both blogging and non-blogging related. Plus, I love having a friend who loves food as much as I do!

I suppose that I should let you know a little more about me, now shouldn’t I?

I am a 20-something Nebraskan (it is still weird saying that because I will forever feel like an Iowan) who works in higher education by day and loves exploring all things food-related during my free time- whether that be through cooking, recipe creating, food photography, or dining. I basically just love food and eating. After struggling with acid reflux for several years, I became a vegetarian in January of 2012. I have been a vegetarian ever since and eat a mostly plant-based (vegan) diet about 90% of the time. That other 10% is reserved for things like eggs, pizza, and ice cream. You know, some of life’s greatest treats! I began my blog in August of 2012 and thoroughly enjoy sharing my passion for food, healthy living, and life with whoever happens to stop by. Come check it out! 🙂
Enough about me though, right? Let’s get to the important part, which is obviously the food.

I was very excited when Erin asked me to write a guest post for her. The only problem that I had was that I was not sure what I wanted to write about. It was a no-brainer that it would be food-related since, as we have already established, food and I are pretty much BFFs. Whenever I create and photograph recipes for my blog, I normally make an average of four recipes during a weekend. Once I am in cooking and food photography mode, I am a go-go-go kind of person. As a result, I thankfully had more than five recipes already created, made, and photographed for future posts. I sent some options over to Erin and this was the big winner!

• Lentils for some protein and fiber
• Root vegetables for an abundance of vitamins (especially vitamin A) and folate
• Cauliflower “rice” for its high vitamin (especially vitamins C and K) and nutrient content & its amazing texture
• BBQ sauce because it tastes damn good <– sometimes that is reason enough to eat something, right?

Barbecue Lentils with Roasted Root Vegetables over Cauliflower “Rice”

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients

For the root vegetables:

olive oil cooking spray
1 large Yukon gold potato, chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

For the barbecue lentils:

1 cup green lentils
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth, for cooking
water, for cooking
1/4 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 TB apple cider vinegar
1 TB yellow mustard
1/2 TB vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/2 TB chili powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of fine sea salt
1/2 TB your favorite barbecue seasoning
1/2 cup barbecue sauce

For the cauliflower “rice:”

1 large head of cauliflower

Directions

1. Combine lentils and vegetable broth in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for approximately 45 minutes, or until cooked but not mushy. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Combine the potato, parsnip, carrots, olive oil, and seasonings in medium bowl. Stir until well-coated.

3. Place the vegetables onto the baking sheet and roast for approximately 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

4. While the potatoes are roasting, rice your cauliflower. To do so, remove the stems from the cauliflower and place cut florets of cauliflower into a food processor. Process until it resembles rice. Microwave for seven minutes, stirring once halfway through. You may need to do this in two batches.

5. While the other parts of your meal are coming together, prepare your barbecue lentils. Heat a thin layer of water in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Once hot, lower the heat to medium and add in onions and garlic. Cook for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until softened. Add additional water if necessary.

6. Stir in cooked lentils and all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for approximately 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened to your liking.

7. Compile the dish by starting with a base of cauliflower “rice,” topping it with the barbecue lentils, and sprinkling the roasted vegetables on top.

Lentils are not one of the prettiest foods. But I have to say that when they are paired with gorgeous root vegetables and green cauliflower (yes, green!), they look pretty appetizing. Or… maybe that’s just me who thinks so? Either way, looks do not really matter because what matters is how it tastes. So while I may not be confident about the looks, I am incredibly confident about how this dish tastes.

If you are a lentils fan (if you have not tried them yet, then you need to!), love potatoes, parsnips, and carrots (who doesn’t?), and enjoy BBQ sauce (it is my personal philosophy that it makes everything taste amazing), then you will enjoy this. Oh, and did I mention that it is vegan and healthy? Those are some added bonuses to go along with the colorful and delicious properties of this dish.

Don’t you just love the little hint of green popping out there? You can certainly use white cauliflower for this dish, as it generally all tastes the same, but I thought the brightness of the green would be fun. Orange or purple cauliflower “rice” would be beautiful, too.

If you try and enjoy this dish, make sure you also check out my recipe for Barbecue Lentil Sandwiches. Yes, if you have not already figured it out, I thoroughly enjoy my BBQ sauce.

Thanks so much for having me, Erin! I hope you are having an absolutely wonderful time in Hawaii! And thank you for reading 🙂

Question of the Day: What is your favorite lentil dish?