Salad of Roasted Carrots, Apple, and Lentils with Chile and Preserved Lemon

I’m always excited to flip through the pages of interesting flavor combinations in a new Diana Henry book. Her latest is From the Oven to the Table, and I received a review copy. She writes: “If you’re a throw-it-in-the-oven kind of cook, whether by necessity or desire, then this book is for you.” With these recipes, the oven does most of the work for you. The stovetop gets used a bit here and there to start a dish or to prep components to go with what’s roasting, but the real stars are the lovely things coming out of the oven. There are options that include whole meals roasted together on a sheet pan, a chapter just for chicken thighs, others just for vegetables, recipes for special occasions, and desserts. I have little flags sticking out of several pages in the vegetables, grains, and legumes chapters. And, I haven’t even marked pages for summer vegetables yet. Let me give you some examples of the mix of flavors I enjoyed seeing. There’s a whole roasted cauliflower with pistachio and preserved lemon relish and tahini, baked sweet potatoes with avocado and chimichurri, and roasted Indian-spiced vegetables with lime-cilantro butter to name a few. I want to roast some plant-based sausages with lentils and make the herb relish to spoon on top, and I definitely want to try to the baked rice with green olives, orange, feta, and dill. I got inspired by the roasted squash and tofu with soy, honey, chile, and ginger recipe and made it with sweet potatoes instead of squash. In the head note, there’s a suggestion to serve this with a hot Asian dressing, a lot like nuoc cham, found later in the book, and I happily followed that advice. And, I can’t wait to bring home some blood oranges and try the pomegranate molasses-roasted beets with oranges, walnuts, dill, and labneh, and I keep turning back to the page with roasted cabbage wedges with XO crumbs that's topped with seasoned sourdough rye breadcrumbs. I need more flags. Every time I turn the pages, I’m tempted by another recipe. Baked potatoes with smoked trout, dilled beets, creme fraiche, and salmon roe needs a flag. Before I get any more distracted, I want to tell you about the roasted carrot salad. 

This dish does involve cooking lentils on the stovetop unless you happen to have some already cooked and ready to use. With lentils at the ready, it all comes together very quickly. The carrots were trimmed but left whole and unpeeled. They were tossed with olive and salt and pepper before being arranged on a baking sheet and popped into a 400 degree F oven. They roasted for about 30 minutes until tender and well-browned. A dressing was made with apple cider vinegar in my case but white balsamic is suggested, olive oil, garlic, and grated fresh ginger. The cooked lentils were placed in a bowl with some finely sliced red chile and finely chopped preserved lemon, and that mixture was tossed with some of the dressing. An apple was cut into matchsticks and tossed with lemon juice. The roasted carrots were added to the apple matchsticks along with more preserved lemon and chile, some mint and cilantro leaves, and the remaining dressing. The carrot mixture was placed on top of the lentils to serve. 

In the book, it’s noted that the real surprise here is how good the apples are with the other flavors. I have to agree, but I couldn’t pick a favorite part of the salad. It was all delicious, and all the parts worked together so well. The book is full of great ideas, and I’ll be pulling it off the shelf often for meal inspiration.

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Meatless Meatballs with Quick Tomato Sauce on Zucchini Noodles

That famous line from Michael Pollan, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants” is as simple as nutrition and sustainability advice gets. And now, there’s a new cookbook to help put that advice into practice, and I recently received a review copy. Mostly Plants: 101 Delicious Flexitarian Recipes from the Pollan Family is the second book created by Michael Pollan’s three sisters and his mother, and it includes each of their styles of cooking. That means, some dishes are vegetarian or vegan, and some include meat but with a focus on the vegetables. He described the book as not “dourly anti-meat; rather it is ecstatically pro-plant.” There’s a nice introduction to each member of the family and her preferred way of eating before getting into the recipes that cover dishes from Meze and Salads to Burgers, Vegetable Mains, Seafood, Meat, Sides, and Sweets. Along the way, there are tips for making vegetarian recipes vegan, ideas for replacing meat with a vegetarian protein, and Food for Thought with nutrition information. Overall, these recipes feel like comfort food made fresher. The Mediterranean Crunch Salad has bright bell peppers, cucumbers, tomato, and herbs piled on endive and topped with crumbled feta and crispy, baked chickpeas. The soups all look so good, and I can’t wait to try the Udon Noodle Soup with Miso-Glazed Vegetables and Chicken. In the burgers chapter, you’ll mostly find veggie burgers, but there is a chicken and a tuna option. Among the vegetable mains, there are some pasta dishes that caught my eye like the Penne with Roasted Vegetables and Mozzarella and the Vegan Lentil and Roasted Tomato Pasta. I tried the Golden Roasted Quinoa and fell for the lovely texture. I have the page marked so I can soon try the Salmon Farro Bowl full of crunchy vegetables and Vietnamese flavors. And, the Pina Colada Crumble with pineapple, banana, and coconut is tempting me for dessert. As I was mulling over those pasta options, a few pages later I came upon the Meatless Meatballs with Quick Tomato Sauce and decided to serve them on zucchini noodles to make it very pro-plant. 

To begin the meatballs, Puy lentils were cooked with a bay leaf until tender. At the same time, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic were sauteed, tomato paste was added along with chopped mushrooms, and the mixture was cooked through. The vegetable mixture, the lentils, and rinsed and drained canned chickpeas along with oats, parsley, basil, and salt and pepper were pulsed in the food processor. That mixture was transferred to a mixing bowl, and beaten eggs and wheat germ were added. Bread crumbs and grated parmesan were supposed to be used, but I opted for some wheat germ instead. The meatballs were formed and placed on a baking sheet. I had drizzled the baking sheet with olive oil and I rolled each meatless ball through the oil to coat all sides before placing it on the sheet. The meatless balls baked for about 30 minutes while I spiralized some zucchini. The sauce was a quick simmer of canned crushed tomatoes, garlic, and red pepper flakes. I did serve the meatless balls with a little shredded parmesan and lots of basil. 

This wasn’t my first attempt at meatless meatballs. Previous recipes have also involved mushrooms and lentils and usually some nuts. This was my favorite of any I’ve tried. The consistency was perfect. Past efforts ended in meatless balls that fell apart when served or didn’t maintain their shape while baking. These performed perfectly and had great flavor. There are a lot of great-looking ideas in this book, and it’s going to be easy to keep eating mostly plants.

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Lentil Soup with Cauliflower and Cheese

Today is Terra Madre Day. It’s a day for celebrating good, clean, and fair food. This is a Slow Food celebration that focuses on protecting our environment and on the link between food and climate change. It’s a day to cook Food for Change. And, that can be one delicious way to work toward solving climate change. Full disclosure: I volunteer as the president of the Slow Food Austin chapter. Slow Food partnered with Camellia Beans and Meatless Monday to bring attention to vegetarian cooking for this occasion. After bringing home locally-grown cauliflower, onion, leeks, carrots, and thyme, a hearty soup with those ingredients plus lentils sounded perfect for a chilly night. I found this Lentil Soup with Cauliflower and Cheese on the Martha Stewart website. The broiled and browned parmesan on top made it comfort food in a bowl. I hope you’ll consider enjoying some Food for Change and Meatless Mondays or more days! 

Here’s a list of some of my other favorite lentil dishes: 
Lentil Croquettes with Yogurt Sauce 
Braised Root Vegetables with du Puy Lentils and Red Wine Sauce 
Lentils with Tomatoes and Gorgonzola 
Watermelon Curry on Black Lentil Cakes 
Bulgur and Green Lentil Salad with Chickpeas and Preserved Lemon 
Lentil and Pickled Shallot Salad with Berbere Croutons 
Mushroom and Lentil Pot Pies with Gouda Biscuit Topping 

If you have a favorite lentil dish, please share a link in the comments.

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Bulgur and Green Lentil Salad with Chickpeas and Preserved Lemon

Have you ever thought much about how you really cook? I mean when you’re cooking regular, daily meals not when you’re following a specific recipe to try something new or when you’re making something for a special occasion. For day-to-day cooking, do you always make your favorite meals the exact same way every time? Probably not. The new book from Deborah Madison, In My Kitchen: A Collection of New and Favorite Vegetarian Recipes, is a look at how she really cooks. These are recipes that may have appeared in a slightly different version in previous books, and they are ones that she turns to often. Here, she explains why they have stood the test of time for her and how she has modified them since they were first written or routinely changes them up depending on what’s in season. There’s a nice introduction to how her cooking has changed now that so many well-made food products can be easily found in markets. She also writes about her garden and the delight of planting and growing new and different things to use in your cooking. What I really enjoyed about this book was that in the head notes for the recipes there are several suggestions for ways to vary ingredients or technique along with ideas for what to serve with the dish. Those notes give you a real sense of her regular cooking and inspire you to experiment as well. For several recipes, you’ll see that she has simplified the process from the original version. The Warm Cabbage Salad with Togarashi Tofu Crisps is a more streamlined approach to a similar dish from her book This Can’t Be Tofu in which the crisp tofu cubes are treated like croutons. The Eggplant Gratin with a Golden Dome of Saffton-Ricotta Custard is lightened up compared to the original now that the layer of cheese has been removed. And, the Masa Crepes with Chard, Black Beans, Avocado, and Pickled Onions began as a rich, layered Mexican casserole. I can’t wait to play around with the recipe for Yellow Coconut Rice with Scallions and Black Sesame Seeds. It’s intended to be pressed into a pan, chilled, and then cut into diamonds and browned. It could also be served warm from the stovetop after initially cooking, and there are some great suggestions for what to serve with it. The first dish I tried from the book was the Bulgur and Green Lentil Salad with Chickpeas and Preserved Lemon. 

I had some pretty, bright carrots from my CSA and some locally made preserved Meyer lemons that were perfect for this recipe. And, I learned something new. Every time I had ever used bulgur in the past, I poured boiling water over it to soak before using. Until reading this recipe, I didn’t realize you could just pour cool water over it and wait about 30 minutes. It becomes tender, and you can drain away any excess water. I actually had some cooked green lentils in the freezer and got to skip that cooking step in the process. The dressing was a quick mix of minced garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, sliced scallions, and salt. The preserved lemon was chopped as were the carrots, celery, and herbs. Fortunately, I had some parsley in my herb garden, and I used my Mexican mint marigold rather than tarragon. Rinsed and drained chickpeas were combined with the vegetables, herbs, bulgur, and lentils, and the dressing was added to finish the dish. 

I’ve read and used several Deborah Madison books, and it was fun to see some recipes I recognized from earlier works here. It was her books that got me interested in using sorrel, and now I love finding it at local farm stands in the spring. I had just bought a bunch of sorrel the day I made this and decided to chiffonade a few leaves for a garnish on top of the salad. The lemony ribbons were great with the bright dressing and bits of preserved lemon throughout. This is the kind of book I want to keep flipping back through to remind myself of all the great tips. And, I want to keep cooking these dishes. 

Bulgur and Green Lentil Salad with Chickpeas and Preserved Lemon 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from In My Kitchen: A Collection of New and Favorite Vegetarian Recipes. 

1/2 cup green French or black Beluga lentils 
1 bay leaf 
1 deep orange carrot, diced into small pieces 
1/2 cup fine or medium bulgur 
1 plump garlic clove, finely minced or pounded in a mortar with a pinch of salt 
3 tablespoons lemon juice 
1/3 cup best olive oil 
1 1/2 cups home-cooked or canned chickpeas, well rinsed and drained 
8 scallions, thinly sliced, including some of the greens 
1 preserved lemon, skin only, finely diced 
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley 
1 rounded tablespoon chopped tarragon 
2 celery stalks, diced, plus their pale leaves, finely chopped 
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 

If you have time, soak the lentils in water to cover for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain the lentils, then put them in a small saucepan and cover with water by at least 2 inches. Add the bay leaf, carrot, and 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until tender-firm, 25 minutes or longer. 

Meanwhile, put the bulgur in a small bowl, add 2 cups of water, and let stand until the liquid is absorbed and the grains are tender, about 30 minutes. When a grain tastes done, drain the bulgur and press out any excess water. 

Whisk the garlic, lemon juice, oil, scallions, and  1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. When the lentils are done, drain them and add them to the bowl along with the bulgur and chickpeas, preserved lemon, parsley, tarragon, and celery stalks and leaves. Turn gently and thoroughly. Taste for salt and season with pepper. Mound the finished salad into a handsome serving dish. Serve immediately or cover and set aside to serve later. 

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Lentil and Pickled Shallot Salad with Berbere Croutons

I was drawn to the latest Ottolenghi cookbook like a moth to flame. NOPI, a restaurant concept from the Ottolenghi group, opened in London’s Soho in early 2011, and the book of the same name was released last fall. The intent was for this to be a “grown-up restaurant” with a different feel from the Ottolenghi delis but still without any “stuffiness or formality.” The menu at NOPI is a mix of the flavors Ottolenghi has come to be known for with more Asian influences from chef Ramael Scully. In creating NOPI: The Cookbook, the goal was to revise the dishes from the restaurant to be more easily prepared in a home kitchen, and those changes from the menu are described in head notes. There are also several suggestions for serving parts of recipes in different ways like using sauces for a different type of meat or serving part of the dish on its own. For instance, I probably won’t attempt the complete recipe for White Pepper-Crusted Lamb Sweetbreads with Pea Puree and Miso, but the suggestion to try the pea puree with miso as a dip in place of guacamole sounds fantastic. The Burrata with Blood Orange, Coriander Seeds, and Lavender Oil recipe comes with delicious options like using white peaches, pink grapefruit, roasted red grapes, pickled pears, or kohlrabi in place of the oranges. The Pistachio and Pine Nut-Crusted Halibut with Wild Arugula and Parsley Vichyssoise looks like the picture of spring, and I can’t wait for eggplant season to try the Urad Dal Puree with Hot and Sour Eggplant. Among the desserts, the Caramel Peanut Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce and Peanut Brittle is extremely tempting. And, there are also brunch dishes and cocktails in the book. The page where I landed first, though, was the one with the Lentil and Pickled Shallot Salad with Berbere Croutons. With colorful sliced beets and radishes, it was a perfect late winter salad. 

This is the time of year when I find the prettiest radishes in all shapes, sizes, and colors at our farmers’ markets and farm stands. I brought home some pale, purple, not-too-big daikon radishes from Boggy Creek Farm along with their dainty arugula leaves for this salad. First, the Puy lentils needed to be cooked, rinsed, and drained. Meanwhile, shallots were thinly sliced and tossed with olive oil and salt. They were spread into an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roasted for just a few minutes to bring out the sweetness but not add much color. While still warm, they were sprinkled with sherry vinegar and set aside to cool. Sourdough bread was torn into small pieces and tossed with olive oil and berbere spice which is an Ethiopian chile powder with a little cinnamon among other spices. The croutons were baked until golden. The dressing was a mix of sherry vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and olive oil. Raw golden beets and round red radishes along with the purple daikons were thinly sliced with a mandolin. Those were added with the cooled lentils, shallots, cilantro leaves, arugula, and some of the croutons to a bowl to be tossed with the dressing. The salad was served on a platter and topped with the remaining croutons. 

The raw, sharp radishes and earthy beet slices combined well with the lentils in the dressing. The vinegar-soaked shallots added a nice punch of flavor, and crunchy croutons are always welcome especially when they come with the added flavor of spicy chile powder. Seared salmon was a great pairing with this salad and a bit of a twist on the classic salmon and lentils combo. Whether it’s full recipes or borrowed parts and pieces, I’m excited to try more things from this book. 

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Lentil Croquettes with Yogurt Sauce

I knew all about the pastries and breads made at Tartine Bakery and have read and baked from the books by Elisabeth Pruett and Chad Robertson. But, I didn’t know what kinds of culinary creations were happening at the restaurant Bar Tartine with co-chefs Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns. I received a review copy of the new book, Bar Tartine, and learned about their approach to crafting every part of a dish in-house. They source the ingredients to dry and grind their own powders like yogurt powder, kale powder, smoked onion powder, and citrus peel powder. They make their own cheeses like goat cheese and a cheese similar to feta as well as buttermilk and kefir. They sprout seeds and beans and soak nuts to make their nutrients more easily absorbed and grow their own microgreens. Instructions for making all of these things are in the book along with recipes for infused oils and vinegars, pickles, syrups, and stocks. All of these edible building blocks are layered into their dishes resulting in complex, fresh flavor combinations. The inspiration comes from various traditions like Hungarian, Japanese, and Scandinavian food. I keep looking back at the salads like the Wedge Salad with Buttermilk, Barley, and Sprouts; the Kale Salad with Rye Bread, Seeds, and Yogurt; and the Cauliflower Salad with Yogurt and Chickpeas. The Shared Plates chapter includes things like Buckwheat Dumplings with Paprikas Sauce, Brussels Sprouts with Dried Tuna and Tonnato Sauce, and Sunchoke Custard with Sunflower Greens. When I saw the Lentil Croquettes, I had to try them even though I wasn’t sure I’d be able to create every ingredient myself as they do at the restaurant. Of course, you can pick and choose what elements you’d like to make and what you’d prefer to purchase. I did sprout the lentils and make kombu dashi, but I bought pre-made yogurt and onion powder. 

It takes a few days to sprout lentils, so you need plan ahead. First, the lentils were soaked overnight, and then drained in a strainer, rinsed, and left sitting in the strainer over a bowl covered loosely with a towel. They were rinsed three times per day until the little sprouted tails appeared. You can refrigerate them whenever they develop the length of sprouted tails you prefer, and they can remain the refrigerator before being used for about a week. I made extra and stored the rest in the freezer. Next, I moved on to the kombu dashi which was a simple process of soaking kombu in water to soften before simmering it for about an hour. It can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days. For all of the ingredients, there are options, and I chose the simpler route for the remaining items. Rather than making kefir cream, I used yogurt. A watercress sauce was to be lightly stirred into the yogurt, but watercress isn’t common here. I used some locally-grown arugula instead. The blender pitcher was chilled in the freezer, and then arugula, some of the kombu dashi, toasted and crushed coriander and caraway seeds, and salt were pureed. This was set aside and mixed into the yogurt just before serving. To start the croquettes, green onions were charred on the stovetop. I used a grill pan and pressed them with a cast iron skillet on top. They were grilled until charred in places and left to cool. In the food processor, the lentil sprouts, the charred green onions, crumbled rye bread, some ricotta since I didn’t make farmer’s cheese, garlic, a chopped serrano, store-bought onion powder, toasted caraway seeds, paprika (also store-bought and not homemade), salt, and more dashi were pulsed until the mixture formed a paste. Little balls were formed from the lentil paste and fried until crisp. I served the croquettes with the arugula sauce just barely stirred into the yogurt and a few sprigs of baby mustard greens. 

It seems like this dish could fit squarely into the hippy food category, but I promise it tastes like so much more than cardboard. The croquettes are full of savory flavor with fresh chile, garlic, and the charred onions. And, running them through the yogurt sauce on the way to taking a bite added fresh, tangy pepperiness. This is a book that will get you thinking about new and different flavor combinations and ways to add pops of seasoning to all sorts of dishes. 

Lentil Croquettes with Watercress and Kefir 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from Bar Tartine. 

This is a dish of addictive contrasts: crisp, warm, and spicy against cool, acidic, and refreshing. Inspired by dahi vada, a fried lentil dumpling served with spiced yogurt – and one of our favorite Indian snacks – flavorwise these croquettes skew more toward Budapest than Bombay. Of course, the spice trade that passed through India brought many of the spices that characterize Hungarian food, such as caraway and paprika. We like to think that this dish reflects that journey – an Indian dumpling from the banks of the Danube. 

Makes 12 croquettes 

KEFIR SAUCE 
1 cup/240 ml kefir cream or drained yogurt 
1 1/2 tsp fermented honey, or honey 
1 tsp kosher salt 

WATERCRESS SAUCE 
1/2 bunch watercress, large stems removed 
1/2 cup/120 ml kombu dashi 
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground 
1 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and ground 
1/2 tsp kosher salt 

LENTIL CROQUETTES 
1/2 bunch green onions, white and tender green parts 
1 cup/160 g lentil sprouts 
4 oz/115 g Danish-style rye or pumpernickel bread, crumbled 
2 oz/56 g well-drained farmer’s cheese or well-drained ricotta 
3 garlic cloves 
1 serrano chile, stemmed and chopped 
1 tbsp sweet onion powder 
1 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and ground 
1 tsp sweet paprika 
1 tsp kosher salt 
1/4 cup/60 ml kombu dashi 
Rice bran oil for deep-frying 
Sour cherry syrup for garnish
Lentil sprouts for garnish 
Watercress leaves for garnish 
Cilantro leaves for garnish 

TO MAKE THE KEFIR SAUCE: In a small bowl, combine the kefir cream, honey, and salt and mix well. The sauce can be made up to 1 day in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

TO MAKE THE WATERCRESS SAUCE: Chill a blender beaker in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. In the cold blender, combine the watercress, dashi, coriander seeds, caraway seeds, and salt and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and let stand at room temperature while you prepare the croquettes. This sauce tastes best if eaten the day it is made. 

TO MAKE THE LENTIL CROQUETTES: Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium- high heat until a drop of water flicked on the surface sizzles gently on contact. Add the green onions to the hot skillet and press down on them with a weight or heavy pan. Cook until the onions begin to char, about 3 minutes. Turn the onions over, press down on them with the weight, and cook until charred on the second side, about 3 minutes. Continue until all sides are evenly charred but not completely black. Let cool to room temperature. 

In a food processor, combine the lentil sprouts, bread, charred green onions, farmer’s cheese, garlic, chile, onion powder, caraway seeds, paprika, salt, and dashi and process until a smooth paste forms. Using your hands, gently shape the mixture into 2-in/5-cm balls and put them on a large plate or sheet pan. The croquettes can be shaped a day in advance, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated overnight; bring to room temperature before frying. 

Pour the rice bran oil to a depth of 2 in/5 cm in a cast-iron or other heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat to 350°F/180°C. Line a sheet pan with paper towels and set a wire rack on the pan. Add the croquettes to the hot oil a few at a time and fry until browned and crisp, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or a skimmer, transfer them to the prepared rack to drain. Repeat with the remaining croquettes. 

To serve, add the watercress sauce to the kefir sauce and stir gently to mix the sauces slightly without incorporating them fully. The mixture should be a swirl of green and white. Transfer the croquettes to a serving platter and spoon the kefir-watercress sauce on top to cover the croquettes. Top with sour cherry syrup and garnish with the lentil sprouts, watercress, and cilantro. 

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Watermelon Curry on Black Lentil Cakes

Prior to making this, I’d only had watermelon curry once before. A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to observe as Chef Todd Duplechan showed me how to prepare a dish of poached shrimp with watermelon curry. I remember his version was spicy and barely sweet, layered with complex flavors, and it paired perfectly with the shrimp poached in flavored oil. When I found this simpler dish of vegetarian black lentil cakes with the striking, bright, red watermelon curry in New Vegetarian Kitchen, I had to try it while local watermelons are available. The curry is built on a base of ginger and garlic that’s cooked along with cumin, fenugreek, and chiles. Pureed watermelon is used in addition to some small watermelon chunks for a mix of textures. It thickens as it cooks, and the savory spices balance the sweet fruit. The black lentil cakes bring plenty of flavor to the dish as well. They’re a mix of cooked and mashed lentils with sauteed onion and garlic seasoned with cumin seeds, garam masala, coriander, and ground dried chiles. After shaping the cakes and tasting for seasoning, I knew they were going to be good. Likewise, while tasting the watermelon curry as it simmered, it was very good as well. But, when they came together, the crispy, browned lentil cakes topped with the watermelon curry were better than good and even better than I expected. 

You can approach this dish in two parts. The black lentil cakes can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator until you’re ready to brown them just before serving. The black lentils were cooked until tender which was about 40 minutes. They were then drained and transferred to a large mixing bowl in which they were mashed with a potato masher. Finely chopped onion was sauteed in a large skillet for a few minutes before garlic was added followed by cumin seeds, garam masala, ground coriander, and I added some cayenne powder. The onion and spice mixture was added to the mashed lentils along with some flour and salt and pepper. The recipe in the book suggests rather large bean cakes, but I divided the mixture into smaller portions. Each bean cake was coated with more flour, placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and the sheet pan was refrigerated until it was time to cook. For the curry, fresh ginger and garlic were pureed in a food processor to form a paste. The paste was cooked in a skillet with vegetable oil for about a minute before cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds were added. Finely chopped fresh red chile was added next. Starting with a five pound watermelon, half of it was pureed, and the other half was chopped into small chunks. The pureed watermelon was added to the ginger and garlic mixture, brought to a boil, and allowed to simmer and reduce for about ten minutes. It thickens surprisingly well. As the sauce reduced, the lentil cakes were cooked in oil in a skillet for about three minutes per side until browned and crisp. Just before serving, lime juice and the watermelon chunks were added to the curry, and it was spooned over the cooked lentil cakes. 

As I mentioned, the result here is more than the sum of its parts. The cakes are crispy on the surface and tender in the middle while the sauce is a combination of smooth puree and chunkiness. Fruity sweetness, spicy earthiness, and some subtle fenugreek bitterness work together delightfully. Grab a watermelon before the season ends and try it in a savory dish like this.

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Lentils with Tomatoes and Gorgonzola

The other day, I mentioned the box of San Marzano tomatoes I brought home. Most of them ended up peeled, chopped, and bagged for the freezer. But, a few of them were set aside for oven roasting, and is there a sweeter, more lovely tomato flavor than what you get from slow roasting? Store-bought, sun-dried tomatoes are intensely tomato-flavored and that's perfectly nice too, but with oven roasting, you can stop the process at any point to retain a little moisture for a semi-dried effect. The result is a cross between the chewy, completely dried variety and juicy, fresh tomatoes. This dish is from Plenty which has become my go-to source for dishes with great flavor and no meat. In the book, Castelluccio lentils are suggested, and the new bulk section at our Whole Foods offers a plethora of dried bean varieties but no Castelluccios. Instead, I found black, beluga lentils which are a cute, little size and nice, dark color and worked just as well for this. Another good option would be Puy lentils.

Slow roasting tomatoes in a 250 degree F oven will take an hour and a half to two hours depending on the size of the tomatoes and the moisture content. The tomatoes were cut in half, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and sprinkled with thyme leaves and salt. Just keep checking in on them after about an hour and fifteen minutes until they've reached the semi-dried state you prefer. I roasted the tomatoes a couple of days in advance and stored them in a container in the refrigerator with the oil and vinegar scraped into the container with them. When I was ready to complete the dish, red onion was thinly sliced and left in a bowl with red wine vinegar and salt while everything else was prepped. The black beluga lentils were cooked in plain water for about fifteen to twenty minutes until just tender. They were drained and added to the red onion slices. Olive oil, minced garlic, and black pepper were added, and that was left until the lentils were cool. The original recipe calls for chervil, chives, and dill, but I used garlic chives from my garden and flat-leaf parsley. The chopped herbs were added to the cooled lentils and everything was tossed to combine. The roasted tomatoes along with chunks of Gorgonzola were added to the lentils as the dish was plated, and I served it on a bed of arugula leaves.

With the bite of Gorgonzola and the fabulousness I've already mentioned of oven-roasted tomatoes, this is no shy, vegetarian dish. Simple, earthy lentils carried both well, and the herbs added fresh flavors. My only regret here is that I didn't buy several more pounds of San Marzanos and another freezer for storing them.

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Mushroom and Lentil Pot Pies with Gouda Biscuit Topping

With a gouda cheese-filled, cornmeal biscuit topping and an earthy mushroom and lentil filling, I couldn’t pass up this pot pie. These were in the November issue of Bon Appetit, and there’s something irresistible about individual pot pies. You get to break into the crust, watch the steam escape, and then dig into your own little bowl of comfort food. I liked that these came with just a top crust which stayed nicely crisp while sealing off the bowls. And, the biscuit dough couldn’t have been easier to make. With the cornmeal in it, it was very easily handled, and it was simply divided into four pieces that were patted into rounds to cover the filling. The vegetarian filling here was hearty and full-flavored with the use of dried mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, potatoes, and lentils. The varied textures and rich and satisfying flavors made this recipe one for the permanent file.

Although there a few steps to putting these together, those steps can be done a little at a time. For instance, you could cook the lentils two days in advance, then you could finish preparing the filling the next day, store it in the refrigerator already portioned into bowls, and top it with the biscuit dough the day after that. Once you have cooked lentils, you move on to re-hydrating dried porcini, and you should measure the water that’s used to re-hydrate them because it’s added to the filling mixture later. To start the filling, fresh, sliced mushrooms were sauteed in olive oil with carrots, sage, and thyme. Garlic was added followed by flour. After a roux was formed with the flour, the porcini soaking liquid was stirred into the mixture. The soaked and chopped porcini were added with potato chunks, some soy sauce, and a little tomato paste. All of that simmered until the potatoes were tender. The filling was divided among four oven-proof bowls. As I mentioned, the biscuit topping was very easy to make. Flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt were combined, and butter was worked into the mixture. Buttermilk brought the dough together, and then I added some shredded aged gouda into the dough. The dough was cut into four pieces, and each piece was simply patted into a circle to fit into each bowl. Last, the remaining shredded cheese was sprinkled on top of each pot pie. They baked for about 30 minutes.

Mushrooms and lentils may not be pretty food, but the flavor with dried porcini and the boosts from soy sauce and tomato paste made up for the homely look. And, the flakey biscuit layer rich with aged gouda was a delicious cloak for the filling. In fact, that top biscuit layer got me thinking that pot pies should make occasional summer appearances because a filling of sweet corn and zucchini would be great under it too.

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Braised Root Vegetables with du Puy Lentils and Red Wine Sauce

"This dish is for when you want to fuss a bit" is how Deborah Madison begins her intro to the recipe. True. It’s also for when you want incredible, lingering aromas in your kitchen and a richly flavored sauce. I would also say this is a mind-changing meal for anyone who thinks vegetables are boring. I read Local Flavors last summer and made use of some local bounty with a few recipes from the book. I also tucked this recipe into the back of my mind for when winter arrived. The stew is made with parsnips, carrots, mushrooms, and herbs, and it’s served with lentils and potato puree. I just happened to have some du Puy lentils sent to me by my favorite Parisian cowgirl and a little package of dried porcini from our nearby Italian market, and the time had come for a slow-braised meal. So, yes, there was some fussing and use of several pots and pans and lots of chopping, but it was all very simple and very worth it.

You begin with the sauce which contained a lot of the same ingredients as the braised vegetables. You can use the trimmings from the mushrooms and parsnips which will be braised in the next step. Those trimmings were combined with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, a bay leaf, and some rosemary and were cooked in a large pot until the vegetables browned. Meanwhile, dried porcini were rehydrated in warm water. After the vegetables browned, tomato paste, flour, red wine, and the porcini and the soaking liquid were added. That was left to simmer for 45 minutes, it was then strained and further simmered to reduce a bit, some soy sauce was added, and butter was whisked into the sauce. See, that was easy, but just a little fussy, right? When you smell the sauce simmering, though, and I have to pause on that memory for a moment, you won’t mind. Next, it was on to the braised vegetables. Carrots, shallots, and parsnips were browned in a wide skillet. Mushrooms, a bay leaf, thyme, and minced rosemary were added. Some of the sauce was poured over the vegetables, and they were simmered for 25 minutes. At the same time, the lentils were cooked in water and drained, and then butter and some sauce were added. One more step would have been preparing potato or rutabaga and potato puree, but I got lucky here. I had some leftover mashed potatoes in the freezer which made quick work of that part of the dish. Certainly, this could be prepared over the course of a couple of days. You could prep all the vegetables and start with the sauce one day, and then wait to braise the stew vegetables and cook the lentils the next day.

The potato puree was mounded in a wide, shallow bowl. Some lentils were placed next to it, and the vegetables nestled all around in the red wine sauce. I would argue this dish was the boeuf bourguignon of the vegetarian world. The sauce’s flavors were layered and complex. The braised vegetables and lentils were steeped in those flavors, and the potato puree rounded out this ideal, winter comfort food. Next time I decide I want to 'fuss a bit,' I’ll at least double the quantity of sauce so I can stock my freezer for a lazy day.




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Minestra di Orzo e Lenticchie

This is one more dish from last month’s La Cucina Italiana, and then I promise to move on and cook other things. Orzo in the title is Italian for barley rather than the name for rice-shaped pasta. Barley must be the new lemon because I've been using it so much in one month. Lenticchie are lentils, which I love year round, but they are especially perfect in this wintry soup. I didn’t find the castelluccio or colfiorito lentils recommended in the recipe, so I used the basic brown lentils, the origins of which I don’t know, from the bulk section at Central Market.

Onion, carrot, and celery were sautéed in a large skillet before the barley, lentils, and white wine were added. That combination cooked until the wine was reduced to almost nothing, and then vegetable broth was added and allowed to simmer. Scooped into bowls and anointed with olive oil, it was served with a few chopped celery leaves on top. Sitting down to a meal of soup sounds less than hearty, but this particular soup will surprise you. It retains some broth, but the barley absorbs quite a lot of the liquid. So, even though it’s not creamy or blended, it feels like a thick soup. One small bowl was enough for me to feel full and happy. It’s a simple meal, but the chewy barley and tender lentils in the hot flavorful broth are unbelievably filling and satisfying.

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