Lentil Risotto - Slow Cooker or Stovetop Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup dried lentils

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

8 cups water

4 Tbsp butter or margarine

1 yellow onion, chopped

salt and pepper

freshly grated Parmesan, to garnish

sliced green onion, to garnish

Instructions:

1. In a saute pan, heat the butter and saute the onion until golden brown (about 10 minutes).

2. Place lentils, rice, water, and onions in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2+ hours, or until rice and lentils are tender and water has been completely absorbed.

3. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with shredded Parmesan and green onion to serve.

This recipe is remarkably simple. However, I found that the 2 hours cooking time listed was not enough time. At the one and a half hour mark, hardly any water had been absorbed, so I moved the mixture to a large pot on my stove to finish cooking. I was making this for several dinner guests, and so I wanted to speed up the process and be finished by the time they arrived (I did not succeed at this). 

You could easily make this entirely on the stove if you don't have a crockpot. On the stove, just be sure to keep stirring so that the risotto doesn't stick to the pot. Based on my other risotto cooking experience, I would guess that it would take about 30-40 minutes to cook on the stove.

I served this with a side of stuffed mushrooms and some oven-roasted asparagus, which made a very nice, filling, and complete meal, as rice combined with lentils is a complete protein. Asparagus has recently become one of my favorite side dish vegetables; I'm pretty sure one of the main reasons for this is that it makes my pee smell funny for the next 18 hours or so, and this amuses me. No, actually I really like the flavor of asparagus. I roast it in olive oil and sprinkle lemon pepper on top, which is absolutely delightful.