Every vegan cookbook needs a sloppy joe recipe with the name changed around a bit, right? Well, this is ours: those sloppy joes we loved as a child, but made with lentils. Snobby Joe thinks he’s better than all the other Joes because he doesn’t have any meat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried lentils
- 4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium-size yellow onion, cut into small dice
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into small dice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
- 4 to 6 vegan kaiser rolls or sesame buns, sliced in half horizontally
How to Make It
- Place the lentils and water in a medium-size saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.
- About 10 minutes before the lentils are done, heat a separate medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and bell pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute more.
- Stir in the cooked lentils, chili powder, oregano, and salt. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup to taste and the mustard, and heat through.
- Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld, or go ahead and eat immediately if you can’t wait. We like to serve these open-faced, a scoop of Snobby Joe on each slice of bun.