Many vegan versions of meatloaf are made with tofu, veggie ground round, tvp, or even seitan. Those tofu-averse will be happy to know there is no tofu or veggie meats in this loaf. This savory version uses only lentils, cracked wheat, oats, and chia seed, along with a mix of seasonings to make it all magically come together!

Scallops work well with a bit of spice and at this time of the year, spiced-up yellow split peas in the form of dhal are a delicious combination with the scallops.

There's little that tastes as healthy and satisfying as a bowl of warming lentil soup. I use a mix of puy and red lentils for texture, and, as always, it's the addition of a few extras at the end that makes the difference.

Serve this dish (inspired by the Middle Eastern classic, Mujadara) either as a vegetarian main course or a hearty side.

This recipe comes to us courtesy of the Renegade Lunch Lady Chef Ann Cooper and her book Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed our Children. These lentil patties are delicious as well as healthful, and can be served as a burger on a whole grain bun, or as an entree with rice and some grilled veggies.

Sometimes you gotta take a break from the hard-core carnivordom, and these are the way to go—just ask our staff, who eat them around the clock. These balls happen to be Mike's favorite too. You'll often find us at the bar with a big bowl, topped with Classic Tomato Sauce or Spinach Basil Pesto and a side of steamed or sautéed spinach. And when it comes to kids, this is a great and tasty way to sneak in more veggies.

Mejadra is the Israeli equivalent of rice and beans—a hearty grain and legume dish that can be served as a side or a vegetarian main. This version of mejadra from The Book of New Israeli Food by Janna Gur begins with gently cooked onions mixed with lentils and seasoned with cumin. The lentils are then simmered with long grain rice and topped with crisp-fried onions. Five onions for six servings of rice might seem like a bit much, but the two layers of onions give this dish its wonderfully deep oniony flavor, lending their sweet-savoriness to the rice and lentils.

Nava writes, “There are no words to describe this recipe other than ‘a deep dish of absolute comfort.’”

Kushari is a simple yet healthful dish of pasta, rice and lentils widely sold in small Egyptian restaurants and roadside stands. With its full complement of protein, a spicy topping of tomato sauce and crispy fried onions, kushari is often considered the Egyptian national dish.

I have Egypt on my mind. While Egyptians have risen up like a tsunami that will not abate until it has destroyed the Mubarak regime in its wake, all I can do is follow the news. While history is being made on the streets of Cairo and Alexandria, all I can do is write about my favorite Egyptian street food. But Egypt is also on my mind for another reason. The pictures below are from three weeks ago when my Egyptian friend Yasmin invited a few of us to lunch to learn how to make Koshary just a few days before she was about to leave for Egypt for a month-long vacation.  A few hours ago, she posted a quick note on Facebook to let us know that she is fine. Relieved, it struck me how today events around the world affect me in a much more personal way than even ten years ago. And in my small way, writing this post inexplicably makes me feel closer to the people of Egypt.

Koshary is one of the ultimate street foods. Just like Egyptians from many walks of life have come together to create the perfect storm of a protest, the many layers in this humble dish come together to make a very satisfying dish. It is affordable, filling and fairly healthy though loaded with carbs. While the various ingredients take time to assemble, it is simple to make. Rather than the pyramids or the sphinx, this dish is one of my favorite things from my trips to Egypt.

There are many recipes for Koshary and some include toppings that others don’t. It is up to you to decide which of the toppings to include although I highly recommend keeping all of them. Koshary is typically served with a tomato sauce and a garlic sauce. Yasmin combined the two sauces for ease. This recipe serves 4. The various ingredients could be prepared ahead of time and brought to room temperature or warmed before serving.

It's the 2nd Big Vegan Potluck day and I chose to make the Armenian Red Lentil-Apricot Stew with Sesame Rice.  I love Armenian cooking and this sounded like a lovely blend of sweet and savory.  The ingredients for the stew are so colorful!

Sambar is a popular South Indian dish. It consists of lentils and Vegetables of your choice. Generally Sambar is served with Idli, Dosa or eaten with Rice too. The Idli-Vada + Chutney-Sambar combo is a healthiest dish on any South Indian Restaurant menu!

Lauki is nothing but Bottle Gourd and Chana Dal is Bengal Gram. Both together is cooked with some delectable Indian spices. This wholesome dish is served with Rice or Roti.

India is a nation of national munchers - these crisp lentil snacks made by Chef Rasheed are a South Indian favourite

Ed Baines's hearty lentil soup served with soft, sweet freshly baked corn bread makes a truly tasty meal

For a great accompaniment to all manner of Indian inspired dishes, Monisha Bharadwaj rustles up spiced red lentils with onion and garlic

Celia Brooks Brown has gone to town with this rich golden pastry - a perfect centrepiece for your dinner party table.

This spicy twist on comfy old jacket potato and baked beans is full of lively flavours from around the world

Aromatic Indian spices add a delicious fragrance to Reza Mahammad's simple lentil pilaff, a tasty side-dish

Rachel Allen uses cream and tomatoes to enrich the earthy flavour of lentils, a perfect side dish for meat

Bursting with vitamins and flavour, Melanie Sykes cooks up the ultimate healthy winter soup.

For a delicious vegetarian dish try Clodagh McKenna's spiced lentil burgers, served with a refreshing cucumber raita

Reza Mahammad serves up crisp-fried lentil dumplings in a creamy yogurt sauce in this mouth-watering meat-free feast

Make Jun Tanaka’s quick and nourishing soup for a simple lunch or supper dish.

This dish is really tasty - and it's a lot easier than you think.

Everyone loves Sloppy Joes! This version thinks its better than everyone because it contains no meat. And there’s no soy, either. Lentils are the perfect texture for vegetarian sloppy Joes.

It all started with a container of stunning multi-colored grape tomatoes. I ate a handful raw and considered eating the rest the same way, calling it dinner (maybe some garlic-rubbed toasted bread would make an appearance). But my guide was this recipe from Sprouted Kitchen, which instructed me to spread the rest of the tomatoes out on a sheet pan to roast, shrink, and concentrate until as sweet as candy. Which, I had to admit, also sounded pretty tasty.
Roasting tomatoes to concentrate their flavor is something I often do to improve tomatoes that aren't the best quality. But doing so with perfect tomatoes has an even more dramatic effect. Tucked into a sea of lentils coated in Dijon, goat cheese, olive oil, and herbs, they taste like everything you wish a sun-dried tomato would be with none of the bitterness. Sweet, salty, and tangy all at the same time.
While you could easily spread this salad out over some greens or a bed of baby spinach, serving it in a pita was sort of fun, and the perfect meal to eat outside.

This spinach and lentil dhal from Miss Masala packs a punch with garlic, cumin and chilli

Legumes, including lentils and garbanzos (chickpeas), are among the foods highest in dietary fiber, so I make a point of eating them as often as I can.

Paul Rankin cooks up a vegetarian treat that’s a favourite of his family

I make bean and sausage hotpots for winter weekends, leaving them to putter away in a slow oven until everyone comes in, freezing and begging to be fed. During the week I'd like to come back to that sort of thing, too, so I use this quick version. The parsley is crucial, as is a good meaty sausage. Serves 4.

While working with the Caribbean food writer Franka Philip (cancookmustcook.com), we came up with this version of Trinidad's dhal puri roti. It's a fair bit of work, but so good to eat freshly made.

Serving these Barbecued Lentils at a recent dinner brought back memories of college vegetarian days when both cooking skills and bank accounts were limited to say the least. Everyone around the table had been in the same boat, spending a significant chunk of their late teens and early twenties creating meatless meals on a beans-and-rice budget. After a few spoonfuls of these remarkably flavorful and really meaty lentils, we all lamented the fact that we didn't have this recipe back then.
By mixing French lentils with what are essentially barbecue sauce ingredients, these lentils are transformed into something hearty and super satisfying. Made almost entirely with pantry items, this is the kind of recipe that lends itself to experimentation.
No sweet potatoes? Got kale or mushrooms instead? And what to do with the leftover lentils? Add a fried egg on top and you've got breakfast. Want to up the protein factor? Toss in some tofu or tempeh and you're all set.

When is a lentil not a bean? When it's heavily disguised, flavourful and easy to stomach. Lentils have finally shaken their image as a fattening "poor man's" legume and have even become slightly glam. Especially the French variety, de puy, which hold their own on many a restaurant menu around town, parading next to slick salmon dishes, jewelled crustaceans and the like. So what to wear when in such company?

It’s no secret that I love to use lentils in place of ground meat. Sloppy Joes, shepherd’s pie, burgers…nothing is safe. Especially tacos!

But before I delve into the particulars of this recipe, lets talk a little more generally. This method for “ground meat” can be used in a variety of ways with a little spice switcheroo. Swap out the taco flavors and go Italian (thyme, basil, fresh black pepper) for a meat that would be great in a Bolognese. Add some Sauerkraut to make a great filling for pierogis or Runzas. So really, anywhere that ground meat would be appropriate, you can sneak these lentils in. Got a favorite Hamburger Helper™  type recipe? Lentils to the rescue instead!

For a long time, Indian food for me meant meat, curry sauce, and a pile of white rice. Thankfully, as I've learned to cook and expanded my horizons, I've replaced that narrow definition with the wondrous variety of flavor and texture that comes from all over that country. Madhur Jaffray's books have helped me tremendously along the way, which is where this recipe comes from—her well-known and excellent Indian Cooking.

A dish like this demonstrates probably my biggest revelation about Indian cooking: that meat is actually not all that common, and that the things they do to transform vegetables are magical. Were I to become a vegetarian, I'd have no problem as long as I had a well-stocked Indian grocery store nearby.
This dish relies on two kinds of pulses, the yellow moon dal and regular red lentils. You could easily substitute all red lentils for this and it would still be pretty good: the real secret is in the fragrant topping, a pile of browned onions, chiles, and spices, bathed in screaming hot ghee and poured over the top of the dish. Once you stir them in, they perfume the humble lentil like you wouldn't believe.

Though I hate to admit this, I am a little frightened of cooking lentils. Sure, they look harmless enough, but they just have a tendency of not cooking for me. Instead, they remain little pebbles in the saucepan far past the recommend cooking time. But red lentils are the great exception. They only require 15 to 20 minutes to become tender, and they faithfully stick to that schedule.

Their quick cooking nature is put to great use in this amazing vegetarian recipe from Appetite for China. Actually, this recipe is originally based on a Gourmet recipe, but I prefer this interpretation because it doubles the amount of spices. Honestly, the dish is still a little mild, but sometimes you just want a soothing, comforting meal, not something that will clear my sinuses with each spoonful.

There is no fresh veg and the fridge is bare. But with lentils and cans of beans, Nigel Slater conjures up a magical feast

You have to love how Yotam Ottolenghi thinks about vegetarian mains in Plenty. He plays with colors, textures, flavors, and even temperatures to create dishes that are innovative and even thrilling, while remaining enjoyable on a very down to earth level.

These Puy Lentil Galettes showcase Ottolenghi's playful techniques and ability to combine simple ingredients into something entirely new and exciting. It was the lovely photo of these lentil-topped galettes that drew me into this recipe, but the idea of warm puff pastry topped with cool yogurt-y lentil salad was what got me into the kitchen.

The lentil topping begins with Puy lentils, a dark green French variety that retains a bit of a bite after cooking. They're mixed with sweetly browned onions, pan roasted and ground cumin and coriander, Greek yogurt, fresh spinach leaves, and chopped mint and cilantro. Playing with cooked and raw ingredients keeps this salad hearty and light. Piled on top of crisp, just out of the oven puffed pastry, the combination is brilliant. The pastry warms the salad a bit and acts as a buttery base for the rustic lentil salad.

These galettes can work as both an elegant first course, or canapés if cut into smaller pieces, as well as a fantastic vegetarian main.

For a long time, Indian food for me meant meat, curry sauce, and a pile of white rice. Thankfully, as I've learned to cook and expanded my horizons, I've replaced that narrow definition with the wondrous variety of flavor and texture that comes from all over that country. Madhur Jaffray's books have helped me tremendously along the way, which is where this recipe comes from—her well-known and excellent Indian Cooking.

A dish like this demonstrates probably my biggest revelation about Indian cooking: that meat is actually not all that common, and that the things they do to transform vegetables are magical. Were I to become a vegetarian, I'd have no problem as long as I had a well-stocked Indian grocery store nearby.
This dish relies on two kinds of pulses, the yellow moon dal and regular red lentils. You could easily substitute all red lentils for this and it would still be pretty good: the real secret is in the fragrant topping, a pile of browned onions, chiles, and spices, bathed in screaming hot ghee and poured over the top of the dish. Once you stir them in, they perfume the humble lentil like you wouldn't believe.