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 LENTIL, ZUCCHINI, AND CHERRY TOMATO SLOPPY JOES

In my book Eat Your Vegetables, I wrote about how I don’t tend to use much mock meat, preferring to cook—and eat—vegetables. But I conceded that when it came to a Sloppy Joe, chorizo-spiced seitan was a pretty good fit. Well, now I say to my 2013 self: what were you thinking, when you’ve got lentils around, just waiting to enrich that sauce with protein and earthy goodness? Always changing, always growing. I also know what not to change, namely, the textural interest that zucchini and cherry tomatoes bring and the zing of sour pickles.
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon ground ancho chile
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 pints cherry tomatoes quartered
  • 2 small zucchini cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 cups cooked brown lentils drained and rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon light or dark brown sugar
  • 6 kaiser rolls or sturdy buns warmed but not toasted
  • 12 sour pickle slices

Instructions
 

  • Pour the olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. When it shimmers, stir in the onion and garlic and sauté until they soften, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, ground chile, salt, and red pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 
  • Stir in the cherry tomatoes and zucchini and cook until the tomatoes collapse, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the lentils and brown sugar, increase the heat to bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the squash is tender but not mushy and a thick sauce has formed. Taste and add more salt if needed. Let cool slightly. 
  • Divide the bottom buns among six plates. Spoon the warm filling onto the buns, top with the pickles and the top buns, and serve. 

Notes

“Reprinted with permission from Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World's Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes by Joe Yonan, copyright © 2020. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.”
Photography credit: Aubrie Pick © 2020