Lentil

When cooked with aromatics and rich tomato sauce, lentils are anything but bland.

Yes, there is butter in the sauce of this roast trout with lentils, but the key ingredient is verjus. If you can’t find it, use half white wine and half unseasoned rice vinegar.

Aptly named beluga lentils look like little beads of caviar. They cook quickly, and they hold their shape. Use them in this recipe, or substitute.

This sockeye salmon recipe is a great option for a weeknight—it's done before you know it.

Lentils and fresh and dried mushrooms give this vegetarian casserole its meaty character. You can prepare most of it in advance and bake it just before your guests arrive.

This streamlined, somewhat lighter cassoulet employs French green lentils, bacon, and smoked sausage.

You'll want to make this recipe part of your summer repertoire; it's the perfect side dish for a barbecue or picnic. It's equally delicious warm, cold, or at room temperature.

A great spread alternative to hummus (and a fixture with crudités or on sandwiches in the BA Test Kitchen). French green lentils work best here, but the most important ingredient of the recipe is top-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

At Philadelphia's Bindi, legumes and rice are soaked, ground with herbs and spices, then formed into patties and pan-fried to make these cakes.

This isn't your typical lentil soup recipe. Curry powder gives it a flavor boost, and velvety puréed chickpeas add body and creaminess without cream.

Kohlrabi, a bulbous vegetable with thin stems attached, is a member of the cabbage family. Both green and purple varieties are available. The flavor is a mix of turnip, celery root, and radish; it goes quite well with red lentils and couscous.