Spiced Citrus Lentils
with Rainbow Chard and Cranberries
This is a lovely one-pot meal, based on lentils and laced with colorful surprises, like skin-on slices of clementine, dried cranberries, roasted pistachios, and rainbow chard, spiked with cumin and a little sherry vinegar. Delightfully chewy oat groats, an unsung (and virtually unknown) grain, are the perfect canvas for this wild combination of flavors.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 red onion
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil*
- 3/8 cup green lentils
- 3/8 cup oat groats
- 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and pepper*
- 12 ounces rainbow chard
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 clementine
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup roasted pistachios
- *not included
INSTRUCTIONS
Put 2 cups water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Trim, peel, and slice the onion. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add the onions, lentils, oat groats, sugar, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often until the onions begin to soften but not brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
Rinse the chard; remove the center ribs and chop them. Add the ribs and vinegar to the pan with the lentils and cook, scraping off any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until some of the vinegar has boiled off, 1 or 2 minutes. Pour in the hot water and stir.
Roll up and cut the chard greens crosswise into ribbons, adding them to the pan as you go. Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce the heat so it’s bubbling gently. Cover and cook until the lentils and oats are tender but not mushy, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and keep it covered.
Rinse and dry the clementine; trim the ends, halve it vertically, and cut it into thin slices with the peel on, removing any seeds. Add the clementine slices and cranberries to the pan and stir. Cover the pan again and let sit for 2 or 3 minutes. Chop the pistachios.
Check the pan to see if there’s excess liquid (the dish should be moist but not soupy); if there is, uncover the pan and put it over medium-high heat until the extra liquid has boiled off, 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff the lentils and oats with a fork. Divide the mixture among bowls or plates and garnish with the pistachios.