Creamy Vegan Lentils & Mushrooms

This recipe isn't anything particularly difficult or surprising, but it's REALLY good and I make it a lot.

Tools needed

This is a one-pot recipe, and really any pan that can fit everything in it will work, but ideally you'd use something with high sides and a wide, flat base. So not a skillet but like one of those skillets with a flat bottom and higher sides. Also you will need a lid to cover it.

Ingredients

2-3 cloves garlic

8oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

Olive oil to sautee

1 cup brown lentils

Seasonings to taste -- salt & pepper, herbal flavors are good here, i also like to add a little sprinkle of MSG (or "aji no moto")

2 cups veggie broth (or chicken)

1 13.5oz can coconut milk (culinary!)

Preparation

Chop up the garlic and slice the mushrooms (if they aren't pre-sliced). Add olive oil to a pan, heat it on medium, and once the oil is hot you can add in the garlic and mushrooms and sautee them until the mushrooms are beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan (if it's nonstick. if it's not, just til they start smelling delicious)

Deglaze the pan with a little broth and scrape the fond off the bottom if necessary. Add in all the broth, the lentils, and the seasonings and stir until combined. Cover the dish with a lid and bring it to a simmer, then turn the heat down to medium-low and let the lentils cook for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, the lentils should be mostly cooked and the liquid in the pan will be mostly gone. Add in your can of coconut milk, stir to combine, and cover the pan again. Turn the heat back up to medium and let the lentils simmer for 5 minutes or so, so they can finish cooking.

Once the lentils are cooked all the way, turn the heat off and allow it to cool a bit. It will thicken to gravy texture as it cools.

Serve over rice or starchy vegetables like potatoes. I like to serve it over sweet potatoes and basmati rice.

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