I adore lentils. I'm actually eating lentil soup as we speak.

I do want to say, though, that I ALWAYS salt my lentils while cooking, and have never had any problems with them being tough; I think this might fall into the same category as salting beans causing them to be tough: it's an old wives' tale.

Some minced onions are a great addition while cooking. I always season after with red wine vinegar, olive oil and fresh garlic. It makes a great brown bag lunch with some crusty bread.

I LOVE lentils. But in the last pot I cooked I noticed these little white things mixed in with the beans that weren't there before they cooked? Any one know what these are? Are they ok to eat?

I discovered French green lentils, which hold their shape very well when cooked, and am just crazy for them. I think I could eat them every day, with a dijon mustard vinaigrette and little cubes of carrot and parsnip mixed in. Also there is a butternut squash seed oil (www.wholeheartedfoods.com) that seems like a match made in heaven - very deep, nutty flavor that goes so well with the lentils, especially warm. Sublime. So glad to connect with other lentil fans!

I constantly overcook my lentils! And, an thus let down by my mushy creation.

Tiainspace, try the French green, sometimes called lentilles de Puy - they get much less mushy than regular brownish, reddish lentils!! But you still don't want to cook them very long......

Sweetpotato, your lentils just sprouted a bit; that's what those little white things are. Enjoy.

I eat them the way @elainesinniger does - and - in a dish with rice (50/50 ratio of lentils to rice), caramelized onions, a spice mixture called baharat (many variations but mine has allspice, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, dried rose petals), and after it's heated topped with finely shredded fresh mint. Everytime I bring this in for lunch my coworkers drop by my office to ask what's in it (and sometimes beg for a taste) and I've handed out more bottles of homemade baharat than I can count. I like the brown for this dish but the green for the dish @elaine mentioned.

tend to cook brown lentils to al-dente then finish in a frypan with balsamic vinegar untill the pan is dry.

- truly mindblowing

I counted 6 types of lentils at the Asian food market on my last visit - they all cook differently and work well in different dishes - I suggest reading more about lentils and different recipes to find out what you like and the best ways to cook your lentils.

I'm making something with Lentils for the first time this week! So how ironic that this was posted! Took us forever to find them in the store, we looked with the canned beans first! WRONG. It's a sweet potato curry with lentils ,so I'm excited to make it!

i was just looking for lentil cooking methods yesterday! i made a pantry-cleaning-out grain salad with random 1/2 cups of cous cous, bulgar, rice, lentils, etc. and didn't want to cook everything on the stove.

i ended up doing the cous cous on the stove / in the microwave (israeli on the stove, boiling water for "normal" in the microwave), using the rice cooker for the rice and bulgar, and cooking the lentils in the oven.

i used a really easy technique i found in an old mark bittman column: ~1:1.5 ratio of lentils to water / stock, put everything in a baking dish, cover with foil, and cook for ~40 minutes at 425 until the lentils were done. i imagine the cooking time and amount of liquid vary a lot depending on how old the lentils are, but it was a great way to free up stove space.

i like cooking them in the rice cooker - easy peasy! i mean, easy lentily?!

@Rucy--do you mind sharing your recipe for baharat? Sounds awesome!

We like our lentils cold with diced cucumbers,onions,peppers,tomatoes, kalamata olives,feta cheese and redwine vinagrette. Fantastic as a side dish or main dish with crusty bread!

In our region of Italy (Calabria), lentils are almost always prepared via a simple soup method.

Awesome! Lentils Lebanese style are absolutely delicious. Try it:

http://www.maureenabood.com/2012/01/05/mmmm-mmmm-mujadara/

I love lentils, particularly in soup where "mushiness" is a plus. Lentil soup with lamb, lentil soup with smoked turkey, lentil soup with Italian sausage -- I could go on and on. And lentil soup freezes so well. I make a big pot, then have several dinner ready to go into the freezer for future suppers -- gold!

French lentils are a staple of our diet. I'm absolutely crazy about them, and use them a million ways. I cook them with shallots, garlic, bay leaves, and other herbs. I'll add a touch of tamari or marmite as well. The water you cook them in makes the best broth. Then you can eat them as they are, or use them in other dishes.

Here's my basic method.

If you roast them they get nice and crispy. I was very excited when I discovered this.

I love them combined with roasted mushrooms as a filling for savory pastries. Like this impressive vegetarian pate en croute. Or these small galettes with greens and an oatmeal crust.

You can use wine as well as water to make the cooking broth. Here they are prepared that way and served with roasted beets and walnuts.

They're lovely in warm salads

If you have some leftover, throw them with rice to make a sort of majadara - add an egg and you've got majadara egg-fried rice.

i use lentils in my lasagne- i half the mince beef and replace the other half with lentils.

I add a small dollop of tomato paste when they're cooking (although like salt, that's also acidic) for a beautiful rich flavor. Lentil salad with cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and balsamic vinaigrette is our fave!

I lived off of lentils and dumplings when I was a poor starving student and I still love them! I brown an onion (and sometimes add a diced carrot), then deglaze the pan with veggie broth mixed with soy sauce, turmeric, and various dried herbs (end result is unthickened gravy-like). I cook the lentils until almost tender. With 15 minutes left on the timer, I add some more liquid and drop blobs of dough to the top of the pot. I put the lid back on to steam the dumplings while I make a salad. The 'stew' and dumplings taste better a few days later; I just add a little more cooking liquid when I reheat.

I love eating lentils not only as the traditional rich soup with homemade pasta which my grandmother used to make., but also recently as a cold salad and, my favorite, as a filling for börek (phyllo pastry pies) and as a savory mini pastry made with mille feullie dough. My vegetarian friends love it. If and when there is another spotlight on lentils on this site, I'd be happy to send my recipes.

Hi Faith,
This is Arundhati from India. We consume a lot of lentils and dry beans in our daily diet through the week.
The fastest to cook is the red lentils, on stove top and without pressure cooker. For the rest we usually prefer to wash and soak them in fresh water at room temperature for 30 mins, before putting into a pressure cooker. You can adjust the level of cooking(or the degree of mushiness etc) by adjusting the water level and time.
However, for all dry beans, no option but to soak overnight in water and then pressure cook to taste.

Hope you can try and check out

I cook lentils 6 days per week and have for ten years. I am extremely energy and global warming conscious. For brown lentils, In summer months, I start by soaking them under the sun in a bath in black pot with a piece of clear plexiglass as a cover for three hours (the 'soak' is tricky because you do not want to oversoak them to where the skins separate and they become a danger to the pressure cooker). Dinner time, I transfer them to a pressure cooker and add enough water to cover them so that it is 4 parts water three parts lentils and seal within the pressure cooker and turn on the heat. I wait until the exact minute that the cooker steams and the cooker weight starts to rocking. I write down the time and add 7.5 minutes to find the exact time to turn off the heat. Then I wait- usually 25 minutes- for the cooker pressure to fall to zero and open the pot and prepare to eat my delicious dinner. In the winter time, I often do the presoak on the stove top under the lowest possible heat and monitor it closely to not over-soak (usually 20 minutes). A word about cleanup. Lentils can be pasty and harden on bowls and pots. I have a philosophy of absolutely never pouring hot tap water down the drain, and Lentils clean up easily if allowed to sun-soak for an hour or two the next day. I use a plastic credit card to scrape off the warm bowl or pot and and then rinse and then I am ready for today's soaking and cooking.

My friend, who hardly cooks at all, said he used to do this in college: add cooked lentils to tomato sauce and it tastes like meat.

I don't know why, but I've always sauteed my lentils a bit before adding water. I think that's how I saw them made the first time and never bothered to look up a different recipe.

I heat up oil (olive, whatever...).
Cook onion in the oil until translucent. Maybe throw some fresh chopped garlic in.
Add all my lentils into the oil and onion and stir til coated with oil.
Add all of the spices in (depends on what flavors I'm going for: cumin, turmeric, garam masala, etc). mix until the spices get a little toasty and smell fragrant and amazing.
Then add water and cook until tender.
Add more spices as wanted/needed.

Anyone else do this??? Never had a complaint about tough/chewy/anything lentils! So I guess I'll continue on!