Wine braised lentils

Lentils are amazing. They are great for vegetarians because they have a ton of protein and a ton of naturally occurring iron in them. They are also super cheap, especially the brown variety. Brown is the easiest to find and usually you can get a dried package for under a dollar. This recipe classes up the cheap brown lentil a little. The alcohol sort of cooks out, but if you're really worried about it you could use cooking wine, which is non-alcoholic.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried brown lentils

1/2 onion, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 -3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1/3 cup red wine

3/4 cup veggie stock

1/2 cup spinach, cut in ribbons

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper, to taste

parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Boil lentils in plain water for 8-10 minutes. They should still be a little hard. While they are boiling, saute onion in oil until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add mustard and garlic and cook a minute more. Add wine to pan and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add lentils and cover with veggie stock. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, adding water to the pan if it gets dry. The goal is to have most of the water absorbed but not all of it. After lentils are soft add the spinach to the pan and cook just a minute or two to wilt it. Season with salt and pepper, add butter to pan, and serve topped with parmesan cheese.