"Snobby" Joes

Alex and I got into another one of our BIG "sustainable food" discussions over the weekend, resulting in Alex saying "We can start doing Meatless Mondays again.  But I don't want Italian or Mexican all the time."  With Meatless Mondays being reinstated, I immediately felt stressed.  "He won't like anything I make!"  Which, I feel can't be avoided anyway.  Like giving a tiger a salad and expecting him to lose his mind over some greens.  Not happening.  Trying to find something vegetarian that was neither Italian or Mexican or tofu was not easy.  I searched some of my favorite blogs and found a recipe for "snobby" Joes.  I thought they turned out great.  Alex went back for seconds, and I felt a little encouraged.  Serves 4-6.  Recipe courtesy of theppk.com.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked green lentils
4 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 green pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard

4 to 6 kaiser rolls or sesame buns (optional – for serving)

Put the lentils in a small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done boiling, preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute a minute more.  Add the cooked lentils, the chili powder, oregano and salt and mix. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.Turn the heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld, or go ahead and eat immediately if you can’t wait.