Fakes Me Ryzi/Greek Lentils and Rice

To go along with the Greek theme tonight, I browsed around looking for a side dish. I came across this recipe. Because Chad and I love lentils, I decided to give it a go. It was very simple, but I did change the recipe up a bit. I really liked the flavor of this dish, and I will probably make it again, but I think next time I may make it a one pot meal by adding some meat or even shrimp. My modifications are in orange.

Fakes Me Ryzi

2 cups of dried small brown lentils
sea salt
8 cups of water (I used fresh home made turkey stock so I omitted the water and bouillion.)
1 small vegetable bouillon cube

1 cup of long grain rice
1 large carrot, grated
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups of unseasoned tomato sauce or 3 tablespoons of tomato paste dissolved in 1 1/4 cups of water
1 sprig of fresh rosemary (or 1 bay leaf, or 1 sprig of fresh oregano)
1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup of olive oil (optional)

Rinse lentils under running water. Place in a large pot with plenty of cold salted water and boil over high heat for 10 minutes. Drain and discard water.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Add onions and shredded carrots and cook until onions are soft. Add garlic, pepper and 2 sprigs of fresh oregano and saute a few minutes longer. Add stock and tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Add rice, lentils and salt to pot and simmer 20 minutes.