Name: Lentils With Caramelized Onion Aioli and Crispy Chile Oil
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 3 onions, halved and thinly sliced on a mandoline; 6 Tbsp. olive oil; 1 tsp. fine salt; 2 (15-oz) cans Puy, brown, or green lentils, drained; 5 Tbsp. water or vegetable stock (or chicken stock if not keeping vegetarian); 3 Tbsp. white wine; ¼ tsp. ground cumin; 1 Tbsp. soy sauce; 1 tsp. white miso paste; ¼ tsp. Dijon mustard; 7 Tbsp. plant-based milk or dairy milk; 2 Tbsp. olive oil; 2 tsp. lemon juice; Store-bought crispy chile oil; 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives, parsley, or cilantro; 2 lemons, halved

A bowl of lentils with caramelized onions aioli chile oil and chives on a kitchen countertop.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton

Canned lentils are given star treatment when paired with a rich and savory (but vegan!) caramelized onion aioli (for want of a better description) and store-bought crispy chile oil. The only bit of hands-on cooking is frying the onions, which admittedly does take some time, but is well worth it. You can get ahead by frying a bunch of onions up to 2 weeks in advance and keeping a stash in the fridge—they'll stay good even longer in the freezer. My fridge is almost never without a container of deeply caramelized onions, which I add to soups, broths, stews, and sauces, thereby effortlessly increasing flavor. I encourage you to fry off a bunch of onions every few weeks, and to thank me later.

The caramelized onion aioli is a great condiment in its own right—use it in sandwiches and burgers, spoon it into soups, or serve it alongside roast chicken.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Mezcla' by Ixta Belfrage. Buy the full book on Amazon. This book was selected as one of the best cookbooks of 2022; this recipe appears as part of our pantry-friendly Vegetarian Comfort Food Meal Plan.

Cook's note:

The onion aioli will keep in the fridge for 3 days.