I feel like there's probably a name for this type of dish. If so, I don't know it. Whatever else it is, it's also reasonably tasty and filling. The lentils bulk it up nicely and the beef is only really incidental. I think this would work just fine with TVP or tempeh as a meat substitute.

I made quite a few substitutions and adjustments for this recipe. First off, I don't tend to keep canned lentils on hand, but I do have an ample supply of dried pulses, so I substituted 1 c. of dried Puy lentils for the canned lentils called for in the recipe. Then we were all out of ground beef, so I just chopped up a pound of stewing beef instead. I didn't really feel like peeling and chopping garlic, so I used a few Tbsp. of garlic paste in place of the three cloves of minced garlic called for in the original. I don't generally keep pumpkin pie spice on hand either. I have all the individual spices I'd need to make it. That said, I figured the pumpkin pie spice was only acting as a stand-in for another more "exotic" spice blend in this particular instance. Given that, I decided to use 1 tsp. of ras el hanout in place of the 1/2 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice called for and then cut the cumin and pepper both down to half what was called for in the original. I also swapped out the long-grain white rice for long-grain brown rice. The last change I made was to reduce the amount of liquid used to cook the rice (and now lentils as well) and replace some of the water with vegetable broth and omit the salt called for later in the recipe.

Mediterranean Rice and Lentils with Beef

Adapted from Cook's Country December/January 2019

Ingredients

• 1 c. dried Puy lentils
• 1 c. long-grain brown rice
• 3 c. vegetable broth
• 4 c. water
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 500g extra lean ground beef or chopped stewing beef
• 3 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. Ras el Hanout
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 c. plain Yogurt
• 1 c. Fried Onions
• 1/4 c. fresh dill, chopped

Directions

1. Combine lentils, rice, broth, and water in a pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Cook, uncovered, until lentils and rice are both tender (~25-30 minutes).
3. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat.
4. Add beef and until it starts to brown (~8 minutes).
5. Stir in garlic paste and cook for another minute or so.
6. Add ras el hanout, cumin, and pepper and cook for another minute.
7. Add lentils and rice (along with any residual liquid) to the pan with the beef.
8. Cover and cook until all liquid has been absorbed.
9. Stir, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.
10. Drizzle with yogurt and sprinkle fried onions and dill over.