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Recipe ReDux #26 Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread

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A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread | Strength and Sunshine @RebeccaGF666 A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

December’s Theme – Grab A Book & Cook: We’re repeating last December’s theme due to popular demand: It’s the end of the year and we’re taking a moment to reflect – The Recipe ReDux has been around for 54 months! To celebrate, we’re playing a little party game this month: Grab your nearest cookbook and ReDux the recipe on page 54 or 154. We can’t wait to see the books you’re cooking from these days. (Recipe ReDux)

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread | Strength and Sunshine @RebeccaGF666 A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

Okay, if a recipe could “win” the Recipe ReDux, I think this would be the one! First, let’s back up! Last year for December we did the cookbook theme. That’s how I developed my family’s beloved favorite of my Indian Christmas Rice. That recipe was fantastic and all because I grabbed a random book from my massive collection and flipped to the specified page number. I had high hopes for this year as well; I grabbed a random cookbook and flipped to said page, 54.

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread | Strength and Sunshine @RebeccaGF666 A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

The cookbook I grabbed first is called, Bean by Bean, written by Crescent Dragonwagon (hehehehe!). I bought this cookbook back in 2013 and I’ve looked through it numerous times.

It’s a cookbook all about beans with over 175 recipes for every type of bean, cuisine, and food type imaginable! If you love beans…well, this is the cookbook for you 😉 What I love most about it is the various cultural recipes and information. It’s not just a “hummus and sweet potato black bean salad” cookbook. It has some killer beany (and legumey) ideas!

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread | Strength and Sunshine @RebeccaGF666 A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

On page 54, there was a fabulous super simple recipe for a Syrian-Style Red Lentil Soup. Surprise, surprise, I’d never cooked red lentils, only brown and green. But I’m all about color and Middle Eastern flavors so this sounded like it could be interesting. I wasn’t sure how I would redux it; it was so simple, really just red lentils, onion, garlic, and herbs, but I set out to the grocery, determined to find some inspiration. Now, you know soup isn’t my thing; only sometimes (i.e. recently). But I had my mind set on this soup and I love lentils, so I was thinking a creamy soup, with some roasted red peppers to flare it up.

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread | Strength and Sunshine @RebeccaGF666 A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

When I got home from the store (this was last weekend), I threw some red lentils in a pot to cook. I’m used to every other type of lentil taking about 30 minutes to cook, well red lentils are DIFFERENT! They take about 10 minutes to totally cook and basically become a porridge. They already created a “creamy” soup texture without me even doing anything but boiling. So when I re-looked at the recipe, I saw this this was the case and the soup was already a “creamy soup. Major bummer. So my next idea to was make some falafel or veggie burgers depending on how everything formed in the food processor. When you add wet roasted red peppers, those creamy lentils, and other simple flavors, a falafel/burger dough does NOT form. WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO NOW!!!! I had this entire mixture and no idea. I almost left it as it was and use it as a hummus, but that was boring. So…

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread | Strength and Sunshine @RebeccaGF666 A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

I started throwing in chickpea flour and arrowroot to try and make it more doughy, but it was just a no go for the texture I wanted. Since I threw so much chickpea flour in there, I decided, “Hey! Let’s get out my trusty dusty cast iron!” The oven was already prepped and so I knew what I had to do! My beloved cast iron came to the rescue! (Now you can tell why I love it so much!) So, I poured my sad mixture into the skillet, crossed my fingers, and put it in the oven to bake…

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread | Strength and Sunshine @RebeccaGF666 A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

Print

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread

A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

  • Author: Rebecca Pytell
  • Category: Bread, Side Dish, Baking
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Scale

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  2. In a medium sauce pan, boil 2 cups of water, then add the lentils. Cook (covered) for about 10 minutes over low heat until the water is absorbed.
  3. In a large food processor, add the lentils, onion, peppers, herbs, lemon juice, and spices. Blend until smooth, and then add the chickpea flour and arrowroot.
  4. In a 10-12in cast iron skillet (mine is 10.25in), pour in the lentil mixture and smooth out evenly.
  5. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Notes

Slightly inspired by the Syrian-Style Red Lentil Soup (pg.54) of Bean by Bean.

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread | Strength and Sunshine @RebeccaGF666 A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

So did I redux a random cookbook recipe? I think I can say mission accomplished! Soup > hummus > falafel > veggie burger > skillet bread! I think this recipe is the most reduxed you can get! The simple flavors of this lentil skillet bread are surly Syrian-style inspired, but the form? Not so much 😉 Maybe I should call it soup bread though! I’m thinking this would make a killer bready side with some soup!

Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread | Strength and Sunshine @RebeccaGF666 A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.

So, Recipe ReDux winner? I humbly am accepting that title 😉 This Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread smells so good, even straight from the processor before you even bake it! It also gave me so many more ideas for red lentils! I think I have a new legume love! Red lentils would make a killer breakfast porridge too; totally protein packed!

So tell me:

+ Have you ever intended on making a certain recipe, but scrapping the idea completely (half-way through!) and making something totally crazy instead?

+ Do you like Middle Eastern food? Harissa, falafel, o the joys!!!

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Comments

  2. Erin says

    This looks delicious! Thank you for sharing it! It also seems like it would be low-carb for my diabetic husband who misses bread so much. 🙂 Or I’ll just eat it all by myself. :p

    Reply

  9. Nikki Frank-Hamilton says

    Rebecca, this is so a winner in my book! You have my vote! My daughter is a vegetarian and I am gluten free and this looks delish! I haven’t ever used red lentils before, but I am eager to try this recipe. And I agree, it would be a great accompaniment to a bowl of soup! Thanks, pinned!

    Reply

    • Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

      Thank you!
      You will fall in love with red lentils! They are just so quick and easy to cook up! Brown and green are great, but red lentils are just something special!

      Reply

  19. Audrey @ Unconventional Baker says

    Oh, middle eastern food… all that comes to mind is AMAZING. My husband adores the savory things, I adore the sweets (naturally 😉 ). I’m really loving this skillet. I think I’m going to give it a try. Sounds delicious and not overly complicated. <3

    Reply

    • Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

      It’s such an outstanding cuisine! Never too complicated if it was supposed to be a soup 😉 hahaha!

      Reply

  20. Ally @OmNomAlly says

    I adore Bean to Bean, I’ve cooked from it countless times, and everything always turns out fantastically 🙂

    The red lentil soup however is one recipe I hadn’t tried yet – so it looks like it’s time to heat up my cast iron skillet for this bread AND then to flip my book open to try that recipe too at some stage!

    Reply

  24. Haelsa says

    Wow, this looks good!
    But…. There is no Arrowroot Starch where I live (in the Middle East). Can I use something else? I really want to try this.

    Reply

  26. Nadia's Healthy Kitchen says

    I love red lentil soup!! It’s one of the only soups I ate while growing up and it’s very popular in the Middle East. I love how you turned it around and made it something entirely different! Looks and sounds delicious 😀 definitely need to give this a try! I cut out gluten from my diet a few weeks ago so I need this kind of recipe in my life 😀

    Reply

  27. Miss Polkadot says

    Red lentils, Middle Eastern flavours and roasted peppers? Yes, please. You turned a cooking disaster into a very intriguing dish.
    That book sounds like a winner, too. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of legumes. A can of chickpeas in a day? It happens.

    Reply

  29. Amanda @ The Fundamental Home says

    This recipe is right on time! I have been trying to find ways to add more beans in our diet, and lentils are on the experiment list. There have definitely been a few mistakes, re-dos, and throw aways when we have experimented in the past, but what’s life without a little adventure? Thank you for sharing your’s!

    Reply

  31. Evi @ greenevi says

    Just heard of this challenge at Sprouted Fig, it sounds so much fun!
    This skillet bread looks fantastic, I would love to have it for breakfast with guacamole 🙂
    Happy holidays, Rebecca!

    Reply

  33. Jessica @ Nutritioulicious says

    Love the story behind this recipe! And it looks great – perfect for 2016’s year of the pulses! I also recently made red lentils for the first time and was surprised that they cooked so quickly. I ended up with more of a spread than solid lentils!

    Reply

  34. Mandy says

    Rebecca!!!! Not only do we have this cookbook, but the Syrian Red Lentil Soup is a FAVORITE recipe of ours!!! No joke, we make it a couple of times a month! My hubby is going to flip when he sees this!!

    Reply

    • Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

      OMG!!!! NO WAY!!! Hahahaha! That i incredible!!! You guys have to make this then! I say you serve the soup version and bread version together!

      Reply

    • Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

      Thank you!
      That’s what makes cooking such a fun adventure! You may veer off the path and end up with something more spectacular!

      Reply

  39. Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says

    You made bread out of beans!?! My mind is blown!!!!!!! And you made it all in THE PAN so double mind blown here! I love the story too, makes it even more amazing that it was total accident haha! But you know what this would be great wth? Soup 😉

    Reply

    • Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

      Beany bread 😉 I think Banza should come out with a specialty line of bean breads…I should tell them!
      THE PAN! I think I should rename my blog, ” Strength and Sunshine…and THE PAN!”
      Another reason why I think my mind is changing about soup this year 😉 You need to post a soup recipe!!!

      Reply

    • Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

      I do! Some of the best recipes we create come out of “failures” 😉
      Haha! The top is my favorite part 😉

      Reply

  46. Christie says

    What a brilliant recipe. I have a huge amount of lentils in my pantry and am stuck with something different to make with them. I have to try this bread with a bowl of chili.

    Reply

  49. Nicole says

    Oh, I’ve definitely had to come up w/ something different in the middle of a recipe. Mainly b/c I think I have an ingredient that I don’t!

    I really need to get that Bean book. I’ve been trying to incorporate legumes more and that cookbook would probably be a good start.

    Lastly, I love making bread in a skillet. I don’t know why exactly but I do! This looks like a good bread to go with soup!

    Reply

    • Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says

      O, hahaha! That has happened before as well 😉
      You’ll love the book!! There are really some amazing recipes in there!
      Everything is just BETTER in the skillet 😉

      Reply

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Meet Rebecca

Hey there, welcome to Strength and Sunshine! I’m Rebecca and I’m so glad you’re here! This is your go-to destination for delicious, fun, and (mostly) healthy gluten-free and allergy-free recipes, tips & tricks, advice, as well as celiac and food allergy coaching services!

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