the tiny vegetable (Gourmet & Speciality Foods in general)

Member Name: pontecaille

Product:	Gourmet & Speciality Foods in general
Date:	02/04/02 (95 review reads)
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It has been a while since I haven’t posted any opinion on recipes. Food being one of my favourite passe-temps I feel it is a compulsory to have it on a regular basis on my list.
Unfortunately Emma my 2 and a half years old daughter doesn’t give me much time to do anything really (being pregnant doesn’t make things easier either) and when it comes to night time I feel too tired to type anything on my keyboard and most of all to put sense in what I write. When it comes to cooking I always feel I can do something great, tasty, simple and after all rewarding for myself because I’ll be eating it too.
Most of the ingredients you will find in those recipes are very basic and are usually already in your kitchen cupboards. They are all based on lentils. I know it is not a gourmet food as it is originally a food of the poor but it is a great seed and I think it deserves to be considered as a rich vegetable that can offer many different dishes possibilities. It is then normal to incorporate a short but hopefully enjoyable and cultural paragraph on it.

Among the world's oldest cultivated foods, lentils are some of the most digestible legumes. It comes in colours ranging from orange to greyish green. the tiny legume is packed with protein, fibre, iron, magnesium and potassium.
It was an important crop in ancient times and the Egyptians, Romans and Greeks loved it, especially in soups and bread. It has several medicinal properties (I haven’t found any yet but slowly working on it) and offers a huge variety of ways of cooking it.
And to conclude with this brief history India grows more than half the world's supply of lentils representing about 800 000 tons per year.

Now the recipes. They are all sufficient for 3 to 4 portions. The first one is a simple but very tasty alternative to Bolognese sauce and is very appreciated by young children too.

175g green lentils
1 chopped large onion
1-2 crus
hed cloves garlic
A good pinch dried mixed herbs or basil or oregano
1 chopped red and green pepper
2 chopped carrots
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1 heaped tbsp tomato puree
300ml vegetable stock
100g frozen peas
3tbsp pesto (optional but gives lots of flavour)
175g quartered mushrooms
1 chopped courgette
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Method

1. Place the green lentils in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them. Leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain.
2. Fry the onion and garlic together with the dried herbs until the onions are soft.
3. Add the peppers, carrots and drained green lentils and cook for 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the tomatoes, puree, stock, peas (and pesto), bring to the boil and simmer until the lentils are tender. Add the mushrooms and courgettes and simmer for 5 minutes more.
4. Season to taste.
5. Use the sauce to top freshly cooked spaghetti.
6. Sprinkle the dish with cheese; in that case I would go for Parmesan or you could try smoked apple wood, different but original.


This one is a successful evening meal and very easy to realise. The only difficulty you might encounter is the white sauce really.

50g green or brown lentils
570ml water
1 chopped onion
1 crushed clove garlic
110g chopped mushrooms
2 - 3tbsp tomato purée
2tsp dried oregano
1tsp nutmeg
Salt and ground black pepper
350g or 2 medium sliced aubergines
2 boiled and sliced potatoes
2 sliced tomatoes

For the sauce:
20g butter
1tbsp flour
225ml milk
1 small egg
½tsp mustard powder
Salt and ground black pepper
75g grated cheddar cheese


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Wash lentils thoroughly, then bring them to the boil in the water
. Cover and simmer until soft.
3. When cooked, drain and reserve the liquid for stock.
4. Fry the onion and garlic gently until soft but not brown.
5. Add the chopped mushrooms and cooked lentils and cook for a further few minutes, mixing well.
6. Remove the vegetables from the pan, put them in a bowl and mix in a little stock, 2-3tbsp of tomato puree and the oregano.
7. Season well with nutmeg, salt and ground black pepper.
8. Fry the aubergine slices until soft, turning them over constantly.
9. Put the slices onto a piece of kitchen paper to drain and let them cool.
10. Grease an ovenproof dish and put in a layer of lentil and mushroom mixture, then a layer of aubergines, then of potato and tomato slices.
11. Next make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook the roux for 2 - 3 minutes.
12. Pour on the milk and bring the sauce to the boil, stirring constantly.
13. Simmer for 5 minutes and then allow to cool.
14. Beat in the egg and season the sauce well with mustard, salt and pepper.
15. Pour the sauce over the top of the casserole and sprinkle over the grated cheese.
16. Bake for 40 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling. Serve piping hot.


The last recipe uses lots of spices that will enhance the flavour of the dish.

2 chopped onions
510ml water
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp cumin
2 tsp tomato puree
4 garlic cloves
175g pre-cooked red lentils
250g finely shredded spinach


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Method

1. Bring the onion to the boil in the water and cook for 35 minutes.
2. Add a bit of oil and cook for a further 10 minutes
3. Add the spices, tomato puree and garlic with more water to prevent burning and cook for about 30 minutes.
4. Add the cooked red lentils and simmer for another 20-30 minutes.
5. Add the spinach for t
he last 5 minutes of the cooking time and stir into the curry mixture
6. Serve with a light salad and flat bread

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