Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Lentil Turkey Pitas with mint and cucumber


It's been a litle while since my last post because we were enjoying a little bit of a getaway. Just a weekend away. See if you can guess where by some of the pics below. Being the foodie I am I had to check out some local grocery stores and of course visit Trader Joes which I very much love and miss here in NY. I wish I could open a Trader Joe's here myself but I think Danny Wegman would overpower. We did not do a lot sightseeing on our vacation it was more about spending time with family. It was 108 degrees F on Sunday by my cousins thermometer. Ayyyy!

Before I left I made this amazing dish I saw on PJ's site, Ginger and Garlic. It looked so appealing- I had to make it. I changed it up a bit due to what I had on hand. I used the French Pouy Lentil because I like how it holds its shape for something like this. Since I had groud turkey, I threw in some turkey bacon as well to add flavor. I loved this dish. Adding the labneh and all the fresh cucumbers and mint just made it even better! Lovely dish. I highly recommend this one.

Lentil and Turkey Pitas
adapted from this recipe

3/4  cup French lentils
2  cups water
1 medium onion - chopped
3 cloves of garlic - smashed
1 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups diced tomatoes
large handful mint
1 to 2 cucumbers
pitas

Slice turkey in small pieces and fry in a skillet. Drain on paper towels once it is cooked through and crisp.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and turkey; cook 5 minutes or until turkey is browned and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally to crumble the turkey. Add lentils, 1/2 cup water, tomatoes, bay leaf, bacon and spices. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until lentils are tender and mixture is thick (add additional water as needed). Spoon into pita and serve with mint, cucumber and labneh or Greek yogurt.

3 comments:

grace said...

108F is RIDICULOUS. no thank you! glad you had a nice getaway and some tasty eats. :)

kat said...

108 Yuck! This has been a killer hot summer. The pits sounds like a good one.

The Blonde Duck said...

I love lentils and turkey! And butterflies. :)