Charred leeks and mushrooms add tons of flavor to this brothy, flavorful pot of lentils. It gets topped with a generous dollop of yogurt, lots of pickled red onions, and fresh herbs for a simple plant-based meal. Serve it with a side of buttered toast or another carb of choice!
Ingredient Highlight
Lentils! My favorite small but mighty pulse! They are packed full of protein, fiber, folic acid, iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, and potassium. One half cup of uncooked lentils contains 24g of protein, that’s more than you get in 3 oz of steak!
Servings 4 People
Prep Time 15 minutes 
Cook Time 40 minutes Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 leeks, tough green tops removed, sliced into ½-inch thick rounds
- 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 10-12 oz cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (or any variety, about 3 heaping cups)
- 1 ¼ cup French (puy) lentils or green lentils
- 5 cups water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Fresh herbs, for topping
- Whole milk yogurt, for topping
- Pickle red onions, for topping
- Toast, for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, leeks, celery, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook until softened and browned in spots, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. You want to get a little bit of a char to add lots of flavor.
- Stir in the mushrooms and try to arrange them so that they are making contact with the bottom of the pot. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, stirring halfway, to soften and brown the mushrooms and leeks a bit.
- Stir in the lentils, water, soy sauce, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Increase the heat to high to bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and simmer for about 5-10 more minutes or until lentils are tender and liquid has reduced (you don’t want it watery, but definitely brothy if that makes sense!). You want the lentils to have a little bit of a bite, but you don’t want them crunchy or totally mushy.
- Once you have the consistency you want, turn off the heat then stir in the lemon juice. Serve topped with a generous dollop of yogurt, fresh herbs, pickled red onions, and a side of buttered bread.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Slice 2 leeks into ½-inch thick rounds
- Thinly slice 2 stalks celery
- Thinly slice 12 oz cremini mushrooms (3 heaping cups)
- Pickle 1 red onion
