Barbecue Baked Lentils

justcallmetoni's Note:

I love lentils for their versatility. Found this recipe in an old Cooking Light magazine and was taken by this unconventional treatment. Though I have not tried this one, I'm making it public now for all my Zaar buddies. Will update after trying it out.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 3 cups water
• 2 cups dried brown lentils
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 cup onion, finely diced
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup maple syrup or 1/3 cup barley malt
• 1/4 cup prepared mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine water, lentils, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and cover the pot, reducing the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes (lentils will not be fully cooked). Drain lentils in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.
3. Combine lentils and diced onion in large covered casserole dish. Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, reserved cooking liquid, ketchup, and seasonings. Pour the liquid mixture over the lentil mixture, stirring to combine.
4. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.

Reviews

[SPrins]

Very tasty! I cooked them until they were soft, and baked them a bit longer to absorb more of the liquid. Thanks so much for sharing! :O)

[my-first-word-was-EAT]

I have never made brown lentils before so I thought I'd give them a try.I bought some and then didn't have a recipe.I searched for an hour for the perfect recipe.I just wasn't in the mood for soup and that's what alot of recipes are for.My search was over when I found this recipe.I had all ingredients on hand and it sounded interesting.After reading the reviews I decided to double the water,add the salt later,and cook for 15min longer on the stovetop.I had enough liquid and by the time it was done in the oven,1hr 15min,the lentils were perfect. My only change was I added a couple cloves of minced garlic and I halfed the maple syrup and made the rest up with honey.This is a GREAT recipe with a really good flavor,I willl definitely make this again.

[WI Cheesehead]

I had all the ingredients for this and think that the liquid smoke is essential to this dish. The flavor is outstanding, but the lentils were too firm for us. My DH didn't eat it bcz of that. Next time I will cook the lentils for longer on the stovetop. Two of my kids liked them. I told my 4 yo that it was baked beans and he devoured 2 helpings of them! LOL