Spent $18 on a bulk bag of lentils that turned into a mushy disaster

I thought I'd save cash by cooking a massive batch of lentil soup, but I left it simmering too long and it turned into this weird paste that clogged my garbage disposal. Has anyone else ruined a cheap ingredient by overthinking the recipe?

3 comments

3 Comments

mary_foster921d agoMost Upvoted

I did the exact same thing with a 2 pound bag of red lentils last fall. Turned them into this thick paste that tasted fine but looked like baby food gone wrong. I ended up mixing in some curry powder and a can of coconut milk and it made a halfway decent dal after all. Still had to scrub the pot for an hour but at least my garbage disposal survived.

the_paul1d ago

Why do we always learn kitchen lessons by making the biggest mess possible?

terryk101d ago

Learned my lesson the hard way with a big batch of chickpeas last year. What worked for me was letting them cool completely after cooking, then mashing them into a sort of rough paste myself. I threw in some cumin, garlic powder, and a splash of olive oil and turned the whole mess into a pretty good hummus or spread for sandwiches. Way better than staring at a clogged sink and a sad pot of goo.