1 3/4 cups water
3/4 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained (see note)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 to 2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro (or 1 to 2 teaspoons dried)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 tostada shells
2 cups chopped assorted fresh vegetables (such as broccoli, tomato, zucchini and/or yellow summer squash)
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (3 ounces)
Start to finish: 25 minutes
In a medium saucepan, stir together water, lentils, onion, cilantro, garlic, salt and cumin. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until lentils are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Use a fork to mash the cooked lentils.
Spread the lentil mixture on tostada shells; top with vegetables and Monterey Jack cheese (we substituted pre-shredded mozzarella). Place on a large baking sheet. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat about 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve the tostadas immediately. Makes 4 servings.
Tester's note: Red lentils cook more quickly than regular, but we couldn't find any in our grocery store. Instead, we bought regular lentils and soaked them in water for about 36 hours. Then we drained them and cooked as above, reducing the amount of cooking water to about 1/2 cup. Also, you might have difficulty finding tostada shells, but you could use one taco shell, broken at the fold, as a substitute for a tostada shell.
Nutrition facts per serving: 288 calories; 11 grams fat;20 mg cholesterol; 497 mg sodium; 34 grams carbohydrate; 7 grams fiber; 18 grams protein
Better Homes & Gardens'
"Dinnertime Express"
Thursday, December 14, 2000
