Lentil dirty rice
Rice and lentils folded with browned mushrooms, the Cajun holy trinity and plenty of spice, a smoky, savory vegetarian dirty rice that makes a whole dinner.
- 50 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.45 a serving
- 530 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ¾ cup lentils, brown or green, rinsed
- 3½ cups vegetable broth
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tbsp gluten-free tamari
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried thyme
Each serving has about 530 calories, 18 g protein, 92 g carbs and 11 g fat, and costs about $2.45 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No baby bella mushrooms? White mushrooms work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No hot sauce? Sriracha works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the lentils and broth in a medium and over high heat.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
10 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 10 min
Add the rice and ½ teaspoon salt, stir once, cover, and cook on low 18 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the lid on.
Low heatTimer: 18 min
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring only now and then, until and dry.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Chopped small and browned hard, mushrooms give dirty rice its deep, savory flavor.Turn the heat to medium, add the onion, pepper and celery, and cook 6 minutes, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
Stir in the garlic, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika and thyme and cook 1 minute, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Add the rice and lentils and the tamari and everything together until evenly . Taste and add salt if it needs it.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium heat
Stir in most of the green onions and serve with the rest on top and hot sauce.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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