“Fakoriso” lentils with rice

Respect for food, our own effort and the ingredients that went into it is so important, especially when traditional kitchens give us so many creative things to use leftovers to create a new dish with minimum effort. That is why traditional “fakorizo” is made in our home using leftover lentil soup. It can be a tasty side dish or even a main course with the addition of crispy bacon or yogurt. The addition of rice is also used for leftover chickpeas, although more often than not they become chickpea patties.

Legumes can be very satisfying, but they do need a special handling to make them as nutritious as possible. Apart from their soaking and sprouting that I mention in the lentil soup post, I prefer to cook them with broth and accompany them with a small amount of higher welfare artisan bacon from here. It is also best to rinse the rice well and soak it from the night before as it will not be strained at the end.

Ingredients

• 6 slices of fresh bacon or pancetta or 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp coriander, ground or garam masala
• 2 cups long grain rice
• 1 liter broth, warm
• Salt & pepper
• 2 cups of cooked lentils

Put the bacon slices with a little oil in a cold wide pan and place on a low heat. We want to render the fat and cook it slowly, without burning it. In about 4′, the bacon should begin to crisp up, so set aside. If you don’t want to add the bacon, skip this stage and simply add the olive oil over medium heat.

Sauté the onions until they soften and become golden, then set aside. Add the rice, turmeric and coriander to the pan and cook over medium heat until all the rice is well oiled. Pour in the broth and season with salt and pepper. Stir well, cover and let simmer 10 ‘ or until the rice is done. Add the lentils, stir and simmer for 1’. Serve with the onions and crispy bacon.