Red lentils a la Noemi inspired by the "Hay-method" and described as a "Rustic Portuguese dish" by my boyfriend

Happy 2012 all you lovely ones! Here's a recipe I just came up with today, to be true to one of my new year resolutions: which was to eat healthier but also stay in tune with what my body needs. Once I read a book about the Hay-method and started following the guidelines for a few months, by separating starches from proteins and eating fruits separately. This way of eating worked wonders for me, I felt so energetic and healthy and it was really beneficial for my otherwise quite random digestion. Then I forgot about this revelation for a few years until it popped into my head the other day while swimming.
This is my first day of a fresh start, so to celebrate I invented the following meal for lunch:

Ingredients:

1 onion finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
4 stalks of celery chopped into small cubes
5 medium sized potatoes peeled and chopped into small cubes
1 carrot 1 parsnip both chopped into small cubes
1 cup of red lentils washed
1tsp curry powder (I used Balti)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
2tsp Hungarian paprika :)
olive oil
salt, pepper to taste

+ for side dish

a bag of brussel sprouts (about 500g)
and 2 parsnips steamed

Fry the curry powder, garam masala and cumin seeds on a bit of olive oil, only for a minute or two, don't let it burn.
Add the onions, garlic and celery and coat in the oil and spices and fry for a few minutes while you chop up the carrot, parsnip and potatoes (make sure the onion + celery doesn't burn, add a little water if you need). Add these vegetables to the celery and onion mixture, pour in your washed red lentils and mix everything well to coat in oil, then add just enough water to cover everything, but don't make it too watery, you can keep adding some as you go along if you need to. Add the paprika, bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes until everything is tender. Season with salt and/or pepper to taste, I only added a little salt.

Serve with the steamed vegetables, yummy! Such a hearty meal for a cold and windy winter's day and makes good use of seasonal vegetables (but beware, due to brussel sprouts you might end up on the windy side too!).

Enjoy :)

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