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Adds bel Tamatem

This is good hot or cold, with plenty of raw olive oil.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, crushed
3–4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup large green or brown lentils, washed
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the garlic in 1 tablespoon of the oil for a moment or two, until the aroma rises. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the lentils and about 1 cup water. Stir and simmer, covered, over low heat for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender, adding salt, pepper, and sugar when they begin to soften.

    Step 2

    Before serving, add parsley and stir in the remaining oil.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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