Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup dried small red lentils
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon salsa + 2 teaspoons tomato powder (or 1 Tablespoon tomato paste)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
- 3 – 5 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 – 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed kumquat or lemon juice
For the Pita Crisps:
- 4 (6-inch) whole wheat pitas, each cut into 6 wedges
- Cooking spray
- Coarse sea salt
Instructions
- To prepare the dip, place the red lentils and the bay leaf in a large saucepan and cover with water to well above the lentils. (Cooking Light says 2 inches over, but that wasn’t as easy to measure as you’d think because the water foams up when you add it.) Bring these lovelies to a boil, cover mostly (but leave the lid slightly cocked so it doesn’t boil over on your stove), reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Remove the lid and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated. If you still have liquid in the lentils, use a strainer to strain it out. Pull out the bay leaf and discard it
- Heat the oil in a small skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and pine nuts and saute for about 5 minutes or until some of the nuts are lightly browned. Stir in the rest of the dip ingredients, including the lentils. Put this all into a food processor or handi chopper and process until smooth.
- To prepare the pita crisps, coat both sides of the pita wedges with cooking spray, set them on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkle them lightly with coarse sea salt. Arrange the pita triangles in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.
- Sprinkle the dip with cayenne or tomato powder at serving, if you like. Serve with the hot toasted pita crisps.