This 30-minute Red Split Lentils dinner features protein-packed, wholesome ingredients that can be served alongside my featured roasted salmon or made into a vegan or vegetarian dish quite easily. It’s a simple, fabulous meal that comes together quickly!
½ teaspoon chopped Calabrian chiles (crushed red pepper or another spicy ingredient of your choice, if desired)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup red split lentils (sorted and rinsed)
3 cups water (vegetable stock or chicken stock)
4 boneless (skin-on salmon filets, about 1 ½ pounds)
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
½ Tablespoon mayonnaise (I like soy-free Vegenaise)
½ Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon brown sugar or maple sugar
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Garnish: lemon wedges (fresh herbs like chives, dill, parsley)
Categories
Main Course
Cuisine
American
Steps
Preheat a medium saucepan over medium heat. When warm, add oil, onion, tomato paste, smashed garlic, smoked paprika, Calabrian chilies, salt and pepper. Saute for 30-60 seconds or until fragrant. Add bay leaf, red lentils, and water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook, partially covered until lentils are broken down and loose, about 15-20 minutes. Remove and discard onion, garlic and bay leaf. Give it a good stir and taste for seasoning.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 F degrees. Arrange the salmon filets (skin-side down) on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Mix mayo and mustard in a small bowl and spread on the flesh side of the fish. Combine the sugar, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne in another small bowl and sprinkle over the fish. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes for 1-inch thick fish filets. Cook for less time if the fish is thinner. If the fish is very thin (like some sockeye salmon), I prefer to broil them instead for 3 minutes and let them rest for 5 minutes.
Serve the salmon filets over the saucy lentils. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and fresh herbs, if desired.
*Or keep fish simple: drizzle with olive oil, season with your favorite spice blend and roast at 400 F for 8-10 minutes.
Reviews
Vic on 2025-02-05 (4 stars): Came across looking for lentil recipes.
Followed it to the letter for first time and it was very tasty. Careful with salt though. No need to use if you’ve a good bouillon.
Used agave on the salmon. Probably would just use lemon, paprika and garlic next time as there’s a whole lot of good flavours going on in there.
Meri Schroeder on 2024-11-05 (5 stars): Made this on election night to feed our souls some good nutrition while stressing out over the results (c'mon Blue). Anyway, this is absolutely delightful. My husband really enjoyed this recipe. I used some homemade veggie stock (from your recipe) to cook the lentils. I added a whole jalapeno since that's what I had on hand. I also used 4 TBS of tomato paste since I was trying to use some up I'd frozen. So good!
