Some meals are more exciting than others. This one, just didn't excite me. It smelled good. It sounded good. And I am a big fan of the flavor combination of cumin, coriander and cinnamon. But once we got everything on the plate it was just kinda... meh. The flavors were decent, but I was hoping for one of those dishes where the whole is more than the sum of its parts. And all I got was parts, none of which were bad but nothing that blew me away either. My biggest complaint was that the lentils were verging on starchy mush (I would probably use green lentils in the future because I feel like they have a better texture better). If I had read the reviews before making the dish I would have thrown in a little more spice and added some garlic for an additional flavor hit, but I'm still not sure that it would have saved the dish. Actually, I have no idea what would have saved the dish. Oh well - I guess this dish won't make it into our repertoire.
Recipe after the jump!
Moroccan-Spiced Scallops with Lentils
February 2009
INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 1/2 cups (or more) vegetable broth
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus additional for sprinkling
1 1/2 pounds sea scallops, patted dry
Mix first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons spice mixture and sauté 30 seconds. Stir in 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth and lentils. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, adding more broth by tablespoonfuls if dry and stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup cilantro; season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Sprinkle scallops with salt, pepper, and remaining spice mixture; add to skillet and cook until browned on both sides and just opaque in centers, about 2 minutes per side.
Top lentil mixture with scallops and sprinkle with additional cilantro.
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