Sloppy Mobys

Eh, the lighting needs work in that, but the important part of the lighting task is accomplished: you can see what it is that’s being photographed. My Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Internal Regulation System says: “That’s good enough. Sit down and eat now.”

A few years ago now – yikes, it was probably 1999, back when I was working for Whole Foods, because it was when Play was first out – I made a hot lentil sauté on hamburger buns, inspired by the idea of Sloppy Joes, which I never liked as a kid, but the idea of that kid-ish-inspired food seemed like fun. We called them Sloppy Mobys, because they were vegan, and Moby was very much the uber-vegan symbol at the time. This isn’t meant to strongly resemble actual Sloppy Joes made of meat; it’s the idea I liked.

The idea came back to me recently, so we had something like that this past week, tucked into whole-wheat pita instead of on burger buns, because I couldn’t find any whole-wheat burger buns, and I am that insufferable whole-grain type.

I didn’t even eat most of this as sandwiches, either – after one dinner with it that way, the rest of it I added a little water to and ate as soup – and it was great.

For the sandwiches:

Pita– lots of minis (we got two bags of diminutive pita at WFM) or a six- or eight-pack of regular would probably do the job
1 5 oz. bag spinach for the sandwiches

For the filling

4 c. cooked Puy lentils (cooked in salted water with a little oil is fine – start with about 2 c.)
oil for the pan (olive will be nice here)
1 large onion, chopped finely
2 medium or 3 small bell peppers, diced
1 T. paprika
1 t. thyme
1 t. celery seed
cayenne to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c. Red Pepper Sauce
1 c. fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan, sauté the onion over medium-high heat until well-wilted and starting to brown. Add the paprika, thyme, celery seed and cayenne, and sauté until the spices are incorporated and aromatic. Raise the heat to near high, add the garlic, then the bell peppers, and sauté until the peppers are tender but have not lost their red color or all of their crispness. Remove from the heat and add the lentils, red pepper sauce, and parsley. Stir to combine.

Split full size pita or cut tops off small pita. Stuff with spinach and filling mixture.

Makes about six servings.