The best way to make lentils
This is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe for salmon with beets and lentils, but I made the lentil part on its own.
Mix 1/2 cup lentils, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup broth, 1 clove minced garlic, a chopped sprig or two of fresh thyme, and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes or until lentils are soft and liquid is absorbed. Add 1/2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and 1/8 tsp pepper and toss. Serve warm.
The Martha Stewart version involved putting in an excess of liquid and then draining the cooked lentils, and removing the garlic and thyme sprigs (left whole in her version). This seems like a waste of flavor to me, so I cut the liquid and left the flavorings in. It's very easy and tastes wonderful. The vinegar makes the dish.
Chief Taster, perhaps unaware of the illustrious history of lentils, derided them as just another of "your exotic grains," but they are in fact a very utilitarian legume, beloved by millions. Yes, Virginia, they do come in cans, but the wonderful thing about lentils is that they cook so quickly that the canned version isn't necessary, unlike your tough, nasty chickpeas and black beans (which must be soaked overnight prior to cooking, if not canned).
Lentils, the kinder, gentler legume, don't tend to cause the intestinal distress that other beans inflict. They are higher in protein, at 25%, than any other plant food except soy, and form a complete protein when combined with rice as in many Indian dhal dishes. They are full of calcium and folate and fiber, and are also a great source of that underrated mineral, molybdenum. What's so great about molybdenum? It's an essential cofactor for three human enzymes: sulfite oxidase, xanthine oxidase and aldehyde oxidase. Sulfite oxidase turns sulfites into sulfates, handy for metabolizing sulfur-containing amino acids (and possibly that red wine we had last night), and the other two are important metabolizers of drugs and environmental toxins. It's very difficult to have a diet that's short on molybdenum and most people routinely ingest more than the RDA. Excesses of molybdenum can deplete copper, but lentils, fortunately, also provide around 25% of the RDA of copper.
Mix 1/2 cup lentils, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup broth, 1 clove minced garlic, a chopped sprig or two of fresh thyme, and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes or until lentils are soft and liquid is absorbed. Add 1/2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and 1/8 tsp pepper and toss. Serve warm.
The Martha Stewart version involved putting in an excess of liquid and then draining the cooked lentils, and removing the garlic and thyme sprigs (left whole in her version). This seems like a waste of flavor to me, so I cut the liquid and left the flavorings in. It's very easy and tastes wonderful. The vinegar makes the dish.
Chief Taster, perhaps unaware of the illustrious history of lentils, derided them as just another of "your exotic grains," but they are in fact a very utilitarian legume, beloved by millions. Yes, Virginia, they do come in cans, but the wonderful thing about lentils is that they cook so quickly that the canned version isn't necessary, unlike your tough, nasty chickpeas and black beans (which must be soaked overnight prior to cooking, if not canned).
Lentils, the kinder, gentler legume, don't tend to cause the intestinal distress that other beans inflict. They are higher in protein, at 25%, than any other plant food except soy, and form a complete protein when combined with rice as in many Indian dhal dishes. They are full of calcium and folate and fiber, and are also a great source of that underrated mineral, molybdenum. What's so great about molybdenum? It's an essential cofactor for three human enzymes: sulfite oxidase, xanthine oxidase and aldehyde oxidase. Sulfite oxidase turns sulfites into sulfates, handy for metabolizing sulfur-containing amino acids (and possibly that red wine we had last night), and the other two are important metabolizers of drugs and environmental toxins. It's very difficult to have a diet that's short on molybdenum and most people routinely ingest more than the RDA. Excesses of molybdenum can deplete copper, but lentils, fortunately, also provide around 25% of the RDA of copper.
posted by Dryxine | 11:02 AM
1 Comments:
Speaking of fighting red wine hangovers, how about that omlette with sundrieds, artichoke hearts, and olives? mmm, salty.
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