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Rancho Milagro

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Rancho Milagro

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Lentils and rice, Lebanese style

Mujadara

Easy and amazingly delicious

less than 1 hour
Serves 8
several online sources
Mujadara

Ingredients

1 cup of Rancho Milagro extra virgin olive oil (Either Frantoio or Field Blend works)

1 large (brown or yellow or white) onion, thinly sliced or chopped

1 cup of brown or green or black lentils, rinsed well

1 cup of rice (basmati or jasmine or another medium or long grain rice)
(not instant rice)

3 cups of water

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Step 1

Start cooking onions
In a large (cast iron or heavy) frying pan, heat olive oil, add chopped onions. Cook until the onions turn golden brown and caramelized. They will absorb a lot of the olive oil. In this method, it takes 20 minutes or so of slow changes, occasional stirring, and then lots of changes quickly at the end (see photo below)

Meanwhile there are other things to do while the onions brown.

Step 1

Step 2

Prepare rice and start lentils cooking

In a separate bowl, rinse rice with water, until the water runs clear.

Rinse lentils, removing any stones or foreign matter.
Add 2 cups of water to the lentils and let them cook in a small saucepan on simmer while the onions continue to cook. The lentils will be partially cooked (12-15 minutes) when the onions are done.

Step 2

Step 3

Complete the dish

Combine rice, lentils and onions in the frying pan (as in photo above), stir together, add another cup of water, cover for 15-20 minutes. Check to see that the water is absorbed gradually. If needed add more hot water half-cup at a time.Taste to be sure the rice and lentils are both ready.

Let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Can be served warm or cold.

Serve with salad or other green vegetable to give the meal additional textures and colors.

(Optional) Soft cheese or other milk product, such as labneh or (unflavored) yoghurt complements the dish well. Sour cream in a pinch.

Notes

There are many variations.

  • Toast spices such as cumin (whole seeds), coriander and cinnamon with the onions before adding the lentils and rice
  • Separate half the onions to add as topping at the end

We've also tried a version where leeks substitute for the onion, and the dish is baked with an interesting sweet and sour sauce. That deserves its own post, even though there's much less olive oil.