Congratulations to the winner of the Love Your Lentils contest – so lucky! How AWESOME will it be to spend two whole days with Chef Michael Smith in PEI?
Now even though the contest is over, fear not – you can still get your lentils fix from www.lentils.ca. It’s the official Canadian lentils website, and you’ll find a ton of great information, nutrition facts, recipes etc. And be sure to check out the “Cooking with Chef Michael Smith” section – here you’ll find some of Michael’s favourite recipes, how to make a simple lentil puree and the wide variety of dishes that it can be sneaked into, an overview of lentil types, nutritional characteristics, cooking tips, dried vs. canned – and more.
Speaking of, I had the amazing opportunity to interview Chef Smith! Here’s our Q&A!
Love your Lentils
Lena Almeida Q&A with Chef Michael Smith
Q: Yellow, red, green and black – there are so many types of lentils! For those new to the legume, which kind would you recommend starting with, and why?
A: All lentils are easy to cook with but I recommend green lentils because they are the most commonly found.
Q: Canned or dry, which lentils to you prefer to cook with?
A: I prefer dry lentils mainly because they are so easy to cook.
Q: One popular trick parents often employ is to “hide” healthy foods. What’s your favourite way to hide lentils?
A: I can’t decide whether I prefer my Sneaky Lentil Biscuits or my Sneaky Lentil Tomato Meat Sauce for pasta or lasagna.
Q: You only have room in your shopping cart for dried lentils and four (4) other ingredients. What do you include for an east and tasty meal?
A: Try 2 onions browned in 2 Tbsp butter with 1 tsp nutmeg for flavour then topped with a can of drained rinsed lentils and an entire pound of baby spinach wilted in, awesome!
Q: Dessert time! How would you incorporate lentils – which are often used in savoury dishes – in a sweet treat?
A: Check out my Chocolate Chip cookies!
Hope you enjoyed my little interview :) Don’t forget I’m giving away TWO of Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen cookbooks! Giveaway ends July 6th – good luck everyone!
This post is sponsored by Canadian Lentils. The opinions on this blog are my own. And, I happen to #LoveLentils.
The recipe with the spinach sounds delish!! I’ll definitely be trying that!
It DOES sound delish. I’ll definitely give it a try soon.
I just love lentils – especially the red dry ones. Hope to win one of Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen cookbooks.
Good luck Marissa!
You got to interview Michael Smith? SO COOL.
Also his 4 ingredient recipe sounds amazing. Must try.
It does sound pretty delish! I’ll let you and Shauna know what I think for sure!
I watched the video and it’s great and now I want to make some lasagna because this recipe looks delicious