Not your standard breakfast: Lentils, roasted garlic and broiled avocado

I was up before the sun this morning and I had a hankering to do something different in the kitchen. I could hear the rain beating against the window pane and I knew that I had no desire to head outside until it got a little lighter, but would have to get out and get in some exercise. This is something I have to do no matter what. I let my exercise regiment slip in the last three month and it is beginning to show. So I headed of to the kitchen, and by the time I walked down the hall, I knew I wanted something warm with garlic, and not just garlic but it would be roasted. Roasting softens up its flavour, and boy does it ever smell good.

I wanted something a little different than oatmeal but I didn't want it to take a great deal of time. Knowing that I was going to have to roast my garlic in the oven for just over half an hour, put me in a constraint that what ever I was going to make with my roasted garlic had to be ready in at about the the same time as my garlic or maybe a little sooner. I first turned on the oven to preheat it to about 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

I looked at the empty yogurt containers on the counter. Well they may have been empty of what they originally contained now they contained an assortment of different pulses-legumes, nuts, seeds and rice. After shaking a few of the containers around I knew what it would be. Yes it may seem kind of strange that I would have labels on these containers, but just by shaking them I can tell what the contain. Chickpeas and Black turtle beans sound a lot different than Lima beans or Navy beans, and plain green lentils sound different than finer du Puy lentils which also happen to be green. However, each of these does have its own cooking time, so beans were out of the question, so I settled for some green lentils of the Eston variety. There were still a few things that would make up my breakfast, but before telling you about the cooking procedures I'll let you see what it was that I cooked up.

Ingredients -Approximately 698 calories – one serving

Avocado – two small

Basil – five leaves

Garlic – five cloves

Lentils – Green Eston, 1 half a cup dry

Olive oil – Virgin light, 1 tablespoon

Water – cooking medium for lentils

I measured out half a cup and covered them with water and put them on the front burner on the stove and cranked up the heat to high. By the time the water had come to a boil I had cleaned five cloves of garlic, picked about six leaves of fresh basil from my herb pot on the counter, put them together with a bit of olive oil drizzled over them in a little contain I made from a four inch squared piece of aluminium foil, sealing all the spots so that the garlic and basic could roast in their own juices. Once my little packet was all sealed I put it in a three inch cast iron pan, and slipped it into the oven.

I slice two Haas avocados in half, removed the pit, brushed a little bit of olive oil over them and sprinkled each half with a dash of pepper. I placed the four halves of avocado with the fleshy part facing up in a six inch cast iron skillet, and before placing that skillet in the oven I raised the oven rack so that the avocados would be within about six inches of the broiler element in the oven. With about ten minutes left for the garlic to finish roasting I placed my avocado slices under the broiler and then went to tend to my lentils. They were still a little to hard for my liking but I knew that another five to seven minutes they would be just right for plating and to cool off just a bit. To be topped off with my roasted garlic and avocado slices. 

Broiled Avocado, roasted garlic and lentils. Somehow a tomato snuck on to the plate! 

Before enjoying this unusual breakfast I let the avocado cool off just enough so I could scoop the wonderful lightly peppered flesh out with a spoon to top off my lentils. The bright green looked lovely, and had I some red peppers to roast together with my garlic it would have made for a nice contrast of colours.

What's in it for you!

The values below are approximations based on each ingredients included in the recipe. The last four values are estimations of my recommended daily allowance based on my own personal dietary needs, and are here only to serve as a guide.

 

Calories	698
Carbohydrates	44 g
Fat	58 g
Saturated	8 g
Polyunsaturated	2 g
Monounsaturated	10 g
Trans	0 g
Cholesterol	0 g
Sodium	284 mg
Potassium	60 mg
Dietary Fibre	23 g
Sugar(s)	2 g
Protein	12 g
Vitamin A	8 %
Vitamin C	59 %
Calcium	11 %
Iron	23 %

Most of the times when I whip something together like I did this morning and was able to write it up quickly, was because there was simply some inspiration to try something different. Cooking should never be a task or something that you don't enjoy, you learn to embrace it and to push your comfort zone a little bit. It is only in this way that you will discover new and healthy foods.