The other weekend, some friends and I got together to play Diplomacy. I made some lentil pouches, as it's no fun stabbing each other in the back on an empty stomach. They came out rather well.
This is actually the only complex foodstuff I have ever made without following an explicit recipe. Let's see if I can coherently describe what I did.
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown lentils
- 4 cups water and/or veggie broth
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- a chopped onion or two
- frozen peas and/or corn
- spices such as cumin and chili powder
- lime juice
- 20 layers of frozen phyllo dough (Note: Some phyllo dough is vegan and some isn't.)
- olive oil
Directions
You'll need to thaw the phyllo dough in advance. Follow the directions on the package; I believe overnight in the fridge works.
Filing
- Sautee some onion and garlic in a large pot.
- Add the lentils and the liquid. Throw in some peas and or corn for variety.
- Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until the water is absorbed.
- Mix in your spices and some lime juice. (The acidity seems to be a good thing.)
Pouches
- Unroll the phyllo dough roll. Keep the dough you're not working with covered in plastic wrap and a damp towel on top of that to keep it moist but not wet.
- Take one layer of dough at a time and lay it on a piece of parchment paper or the like.
- Cover the dough with olive oil. You should brush each layer gently with oil; I sprayed each layer with olive oil-based Pam because I'm a bad person.
- Take the next sheet of dough and lay it on top of the first. The oil is the 'glue' that holds them together.
- Repeat until you've got four layers of dough.
- Cut the layered dough into six squares.
- Put a dob of filling in the middle of each and squeeze the corners up into a pouch shape.
- Put the pouches on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes at 375°F.
- Repeat until out of dough. I had a twenty layer roll, which made about 30 four-layer-thick pouches.