Today is Good Friday for the Orthodox Christian Easter Holiday, a beautiful spring day, the church bells ringing. Part of the Orthodox Easter is fasting from meat, cheese, eggs and oil. It is kind of like having a country full of vegans for one day here in Greece! We thought of making a lentil version of our Vegan Sloppy Joes (click here), (meaning I wanted to make lentils that Jake would actually enjoy), without olive oil for our friends who fast today! This is especially great for kids who want to follow tradition for their mother’s sake! So we made Sloppy Joes with lentils without olive oil, a quick and easy recipe that leads to a very enjoyable and nutritious dinner.
Ingredients to serve 4          Time : 20 minutes (after boiling the lentils, of course)

• 1 ½ cup of boiled lentils
• ½ cup of red onions, diced
• ½ cup of green peppers, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon of mustard
• 1 teaspoon of barbeque sauce
• 1 cup of tomato juice
• 70 grams of tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons of organic raw cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• A pinch of ground black pepper
• A pinch of paprika

In a non-stick frying pan with a lid add 2-3 tablespoons of water. Place the pan on medium-high heat until the water starts to sizzle. Then, add the garlic, onions and peppers; stir. Keep stirring until they soften and add a few more tablespoons of water when you see the water evaporating. After 3-4 minutes, when they are soft, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir and cover halfway with the lid, lower the heat and let the food simmer until the tomato sauce becomes one with the lentils. This should take about 10 minutes. Stir frequently!

We served this recipe with our simple gluten free vegan bread recipe (click here) which does contain oil. However, these lentil sloppy joes are delicious enough to eat without bread if you cannot find oil free bread if you are fasting!

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