You have a little bit of this and a little bit of this left in the fridge, but no cohesive ingredients. You have some leftover Dal that’s too little to freeze and too much to throw away. This Sourdough Dal Sweet Potato Skillet is your answer. This recipe is a veggie variation of Lisa Bass sourdough skillet.
Why you’ll love this recipe
This Spiced Dal Sourdough Skillet is quick and doesn’t require attention to detail or great technique. It comes together so easily.
A sourdough skillet is a great way to use up leftovers in your fridge, like this everyday dal.
It’s a one pot meal that isn’t a soup and doesn’t take 50 minutes in the oven like other tray bakes.
This is a great way to use up leftover sourdough discard from your fridge. You can use discard straight out of the fridge – no rise or proofing needed. Baking soda is the leavening agent in this recipe.
How to get the most of this recipe
If you’re vegetarian and want more flavor: Pesto is another great addition to this dish. Add pesto in spoonfuls on top of the vegetables before you top the skillet with the sourdough mixture. If you’re adding sauces, I would stick to either pesto or miso. I haven’t tried both in combination yet.
If you’re vegan and want some oompf: Miso is a wonderful addition because it stays in the background as a flavor and doesn’t dominate the dish but gives it a little something. If you want to add Miso, either add it into your sourdough mixture for a subtle addition or dab spoonfuls of miso onto your veggies before topping the dish with the sourdough mixture.
Cooking essentials that make this a quick recipe
Use a cast iron skillet if you have one: This makes this recipe so quick and easy because you can assemble the dish on the stove top and finish it off in the oven.
If you don’t have a cast iron skillet: Transfer your sautéed vegetables and filling to a baking dish before topping with the sourdough mixture and sending this into the oven. This means more washing up but doesn’t affect the taste at all.
How to pair Spiced Dal Sourdough Skillet
Make a salad to go along with this in summer, this carrot salad is a wonderful combination.
It’s also a wonderful dish for a spread because it can be complemented by many things.
This is a great summer dish for when you’re eating outside. Serving this dish in the cast iron skillet will keep it warm for longer and works well for a rustic garden dinner.
Ingredients for Spiced Dal Sourdough Skillet
Aromatics
2 cloves of garlic
Pantry Items
1 tablespoon olive oil (alternatively use coconut oil or ghee)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch of salt
Filling
1 or 2 whole Mozzarella (that should be roughly 2 cups or 480 grams)
1,5 cup leftover dal (360 grams)
1 cup cherry tomatoes (240 grams)
1 or two cubes of Frozen Spinach or kale
1 cup of frozen Peas (that’s roughly 240 grams)
1,5 cups of Sourdough starter (that’s 360 grams)
1/4th cup Sesame seeds (optional) (that’s 60 grams)
Tools you may need
1 large cast Iron skillet or baking tray
1 cutting Board
How to make Spiced Dal Sourdough Skillet
Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius.
Sauté the garlic until fragrant and cherry tomatoes in the cast iron skillet on the stove until fragrant.
Add the frozen peas over the top and let them thaw in the pan.
Meanwhile, boil a liter of water and pour this over your 3 cubes of frozen spinach. Let these defrost in the water for a minute.
While the veggies are cooking on the stove, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the sourdough starter, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
When the veggies are done cooking, add the defrosted spinach on top. This doesn’t need to be an even or perfect layer. Just make sure you don’t have any big frozen lumps of spinach in your cast iron skillet. If you do, let the spinach defrost before you add the next layer.
Now add the dal into the cast iron skillet on top of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spread the sourdough mixture over the top of the veggies, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until bread is cooked through and golden brown on top. If you’re not sure, poke the top of the skillet with a toothpick, chopstick or knife. It should come out clean, just like when you’re making sure a cake is done. I love leaving it in until the top is just ever so slightly crispy.
Swaps and Alternatives
No sourdough starter on hand, no problem: Mix an equal amount of water and flour to create a mixture that has the consistency of cake batter – this means it should be wet and sticky. Now add the salt, baking soda and baking flour. Knead to incorporate until all parts are well incorporated. Because this recipe doesn’t require a real rise or doubling of the dough, you can use this mixture immediately after preparing. It won’t have the depth of flavor of sourdough, but work well all the same.
Swaps for when you don’t have all the ingredients
Add canned black or kidney beans instead of dal: If you don’t have any dal on hand, add canned black or kidney beans instead. This will give you a nutritious substitute for the protein of the lentils. If the plain canned beans are too bland for you, you can fry these separately, or before adding the other vegetables to your sourdough skillet. I love adding fresh cilantro when I use black beans.
Use kale when you have no spinach: I use frozen spinach and frozen kale interchangeably here. Spinach will give you a milder flavor with less texture and bite, which is why I prefer it. Kale has more fiber and will stand out more in the dish but works just as well.
Use white potato instead of sweet potato: This is a great way to make this recipe more affordable, depending on where you live. Generally local potatoes are the cheapest which means you can substitute for your local variety. Make sure to cook these potatoes separately before assembling the sourdough skillet. I always use leftover potatoes that I have in the fridge that are already cooked. Sweet potatoes are sweeter and creamier, which is why I love them, but white potatoes work just fine.
Swaps for making it vegan & lactose free
Make it dairy free using cashews: A great way to make this dairy free is to roast a few cashews in a separate skillet and sprinkle them over the top of the vegetables like you would cheese. Roasted cashews have a lovely, rich flavor. They also take on some of the moisture of the vegetables once they are covered with the sourdough mixture, but still retain a little crunch. If you’re looking for a softer texture that mimics the mozzarella, soak cashews in water overnight or until they can be crushed between your thumb and forefinger.
How to store Spiced Dal Sourdough Skillet
Store the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. I prefer taking the leftovers out of the cast iron skillet, if I have a lot of left. If you do keep them in the skillet overnight, some ingredients will get a sort of funky ‘iron’ taste.
Reheat this dish by placing it in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius until hot. I will say that if you do use the same skillet to reheat as you cooked in, and only have a little left it will become quite crusty and will need some soaking before you can clean the skillet.
This is a great recipe for lunch the next day. It also heats well in a microwave.
If you try this recipe and enjoy it, leave a review. Thank you so much!
Spiced Dal Sourdough Skillet
Equipment
- 1 Large cast Iron skillet Alternatively, use a baking tray
- 1 Cutting Board
Ingredients
Aromatics
- 2 cloves of garlic
Pantry Items
- 1 tablespoon olive oil alternatively use coconut oil or ghee
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
Filling
- 2 Whole Mozzarella that should be roughly 2 cups or 480 grams
- 1,5 cup leftover dal that's 360 grams
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes that's 240 grams
- 1 or two cubes of Frozen Spinach or kale
- 1 cup of frozen Peas that’s roughly 240 grams
- 1,5 cups of Sourdough starter that’s 360 grams
- 1/4 cup Sesame seeds optional (that’s 60 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius.
- Sauté the garlic until fragrant and cherry tomatoes in the cast iron skillet on the stove until fragrant.
- Add the frozen peas over the top and let them thaw in the pan.
- Meanwhile, boil a liter of water and pour this over your 3 cubes of frozen spinach.
- While the veggies are cooking on the stove, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the sourdough starter, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- When the veggies are done cooking, add the dal into the cast iron skillet and season with salt and pepper.
- Spread the sourdough mixture over the top of the veggies, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until bread is cooked through and golden brown on top. If you’re not sure, poke the top of the skillet with a toothpick, chopstick or knife. It should come out clean, just like when you’re making sure a cake is done. I love leaving it in until the top is just ever so slightly crispy.