Lentils with Tofu and Chimichurri Sauce

photography Amy Albertson

I wish this was a video so I could show you the technique

for easily shaving the parsley leaves off with a knife.

It is kind of a quick back and forth and you just get the

leaves without the stems.

photography Amy Albertson

Adding the Chimichurri Sauce to the

lentils, onions and tofu.

photography Amy Albertson

Ready to Serve

This is good whether your vegan, vegetarian, on a diet or not! This is actually one of my husband's favorite dinners. It is very filling and satisfying. I personally love tofu. If you don't care for tofu you could easily substitute some kind of sausage, chicken or beef.

This was one of of those recipes that I always made when I didn't have time to make dinner. It was a fallback recipe because I used to keep the precooked black lentils from Trader Joe's as a staple in my fridge. Now I just make my own. If you can't find the precooked ones, lentils are the quickest bean to cook. They take about 40 minutes. Just add 1 cup of lentils to 2 1/2 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of salt, cover the pot and cook until they are done. I have a tougher time finding the Black Lentils (also known as Beluga Lentils or Black Caviar Lentils.) They carry them at Whole Foods, some health food stores and some Trader Joe's. I wish they carried them everywhere. I imagine you could use regular lentils if you can't find the black ones. I just haven't tried it yet.

Traditional Chimichurri Sauce is from Argentina and Uruguay and usually used on grilled beef or Chorizo sausages. The Fiddle version of Chimichurri Sauce has very little olive oil. In the normal version there would be more oil. In the normal version I would also use the whole block of tofu instead of just half. In the normal version I use Firm or Extra-Firm Tofu. In the Fiddle version I use Soft Tofu because it is half the calories. Soft Tofu is more delicate and will fall apart more easily but the taste is lovely and creamy.

I start cooking the lentils first. Then I make the Chimichurri Sauce to let it sit for awhile for the flavors to combine. Then I saute the onions and proceed with the recipe.

Fiddle Version Black Lentils with Tofu and Chimichurri Sauce

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, minced

pinch of salt for onion

7.5 ounces of Soft Tofu (about 1/2 block), cubed

2 1/2 cups cooked Black Lentils

Entire batch of Fiddle Chimichurri Sauce

(recipe follows)

In a large non-stick skillet, saute the yellow onion in olive oil. Add a pinch of salt to the onion as it is cooking. When the onion is soft add the cubes of Tofu and cook until slightly browned (about 1 minute.)

Add the lentils and Chimichurri Sauce and cook until warm.

Makes 4 1-cup servings. 5 points*

Fiddle Version Chimichurri Sauce

2 heads of flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, minced

(flat-leave parsley is also known as Italian parsley)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

(garlic is easier to mince if you sprinkle a little kosher salt on it)

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

(this may seem like a lot and would be too much in a cooked tomato sauce, but in this

sauce you won't even notice the heat if you use 1/2 of this)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.

*The Points® values for these products and/or recipes were calculated by Maili and are not an endorsement or approval of the product, recipe or its manufacturer or developer by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the Points® registered trademark.