Fragrant Red Lentils with broccoli romanesco

This dish is indeed fragrant, thanks to the coconut milk and spices, but it is also highly flavorful. It contains ginger, jalapeno chiles, turmeric (a spice from the ginger family), cilantro, and a smidgen of cayenne, making it pleasantly spicy which works nicely with the rice. It tastes a little bit Indian. It also contains broccoli romanesco (aka Roman cau

liflower) which is a gorgeous vegetable with its beautiful fractal pattern, high in fiber, and very delicious.

This is one of those fabulous one-dish meals that looks beautiful on the plate, fills you up, is comforting and exotic at the same time, and is very good for you. It is high in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. The dish is served with a mound of basmati rice in the middle, surrounded by the lentils, with broccoli romanesco tucked in to the lentils, little dollops of yogurt, and cilantro garnish. It only takes about 40 minutes to prepare. The only down side of this dish is that it took 5 (count them, 5!) pans to prepare - one for the rice, one for steaming the veggies, one for the lentil mixture, one for spicing up the veggies, and a little one for a finishing touch of mustard seeds browned in butter.

Have you ever seen a red lentil? Before they are cooked, they are a bright orangish-pinkish color, so it surprised me a bit when this dish turned out yellow. The color of the lentils mellows with cooking, and the turmeric colors the dish. Since the broccoli romanesco is already pale green to begin with, and then it pales a bit more when it is steamed, there wasn't quite enough color contrast between the lentils and the vegetables, but it was still beautiful. More importantly, it was delicious.

Let's get started

First, start some basmati rice. Rinse one cup of rice in several changes of water. Put it in 2 cups water with a little salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low, cover, and cook for 16 minutes. Turn off heat and fluff with a fork.

Finely chop 1 small onion, 1 T. fresh ginger, 1 large jalapeno pepper (remove seeds and veins), and 1/3 cup cilantro. Separate 1/3 of the ginger and 1/3 of the cilantro set aside for later. Also choose some pretty cilantro sprigs to use as garnish. Rinse 2 cups of red lentils. Have turmeric, cayenne, a bay leaf, mustard seeds, and 1 can coconut milk standing by.

Melt 2 T. butter in a 3 qt. saucepan. Add the onion, 2/3 of the ginger (the larger pile), and the jalapeno, and saute for 2 minutes. Add the lentils, 1 t. turmeric, 1/8 t. cayenne, 3 cups water, 1 bay leaf, and 1 t. salt to the pan. Stir. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Stir in the can of coconut milk and simmer for a few more minutes. Taste for salt and remove from heat. Stir in 2/3 of the cilantro (about 1/4 cup).

While the lentils are cooking, cut one head of broccoli romanesco into bite sized pieces. Steam until tender but still firm when poked with a knife. Melt 2 t. butter and add the remaining ginger, 1/2 t. turmeric, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne. Cook over low heat for a minute, then add the broccoli romanesco and 1/3 cup of the cooking water. Raise the heat, add the rest of the cilantro and season with salt. Swirl everything around the pan and cook until the water has evaporated.

To finish, melt 2 t. butter in a small skillet over high heat. Add 1 t. mustard seed and cook about one minute. Stir this into the lentils.

Warm up the lentils if they have gotten cold. To serve, pack the rice into ramekins and turn them upside down on each plate. Spoon lentils around them. Add a few dollops of yogurt, the broccoli romanesco, and the cilantro garnish. Remove the ramekins, leaving the rice intact. If you want to serve this all in one dish and let people serve themselves, pack the rice into a small bowl instead of ramekins, and arrange as above in a large pasta bowl or platter.

Things I'd Do Differently Next Time

I might try serving this in one big dish, depending on how many people are eating. I might also try broccoli for its dark green color in contrast to the yellow of the lentil dish. I would buy my coconut milk at an Asian market instead of the supermarket, where it is about half the cost.

We are freezing the leftovers for later. I'm curious to see how they turn out when thawed.

Cost to prepare

3+ T. butter - $.30

1 small onion - $.40

1 T. ginger - $.20

1 large jalapeno - $.50

2 c. split red lentils - $2.00

spices - negligible

1 can coconut milk - $2.00

1/3 c. cilantro - $.25

1 head broccoli romanesco - $2.00 (I'm guessing - mine came from the farm)

If you can't find broccoli romanesco, you can use cauliflower or broccoli. The dark green of the broccoli would look nice.

1/4 c. yogurt - $.25

TOTAL - About $8.00 for 4 people

Lentils and Shells with Cilantro-Scented Onions and Spinach

This was a really unexpected and unusual direction to take lentils and pasta. It runs a little more along the mexican flavor spectrum than the italian, featuring lime, cumin, cilantro, and mint. It's easy and delicious. You don't need anything else with it except a nice spicy wine and maybe some bread. I used the french green lentils with this and it really had a lovely color and visual appeal. Plain brown lentils would be a little too drab.

Here's what you do:

Rinse 1 cup green lentils, and simmer them in 6 cups water, along with 1 bay leaf, 1 celery rib, and 2 thyme sprigs. (You'll want to remove the aromatics later, so you can tie them together if you want.) Let them cook until very soft but not mushy, about 35 minutes.

While they're cooking, start water boiling for the pasta. Wash and trim 1 bunch spinach. Slice 2 large onions. Chop 1 cup cilantro and 3 T. mint. Heat 2 T. olive oil or butter (or a mixture). Add the onions and cook until golden, about 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro, mint, 1/2 t. ground cumin (or more). Turn off heat and squeeze the limes over the onions. Season well with salt and pepper.

When the pasta water boils, add salt and 1/2 pound small pasta shells or other short type pasta. Cook until al dente. When finished, scoop them out of the water and put them directly into the lentils. (Remove the aromatics first.) Add the spinach to the boiling pasta water and cook until wilted. Scoop it out and add it to the lentils and shells.

Toss the lentils, shells, and spinach with half the onions and a little extra olive oil. Taste for salt and season with pepper. Spoon the remaining onions over the top. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a little extra cilantro.

Things I'd do differently next time: Deborah's recipe called for spinach crowns, which are the rosy base of the plant including a few inches of the stems. They're usually thrown out, but she says they're delicious and very pretty. I left them out because I couldn't find any. In fact, I couldn't even find heads of spinach and I used baby spinach instead. Any kind of spinach is fine, I think. You could even use other kinds of tender braising greens if you wanted. I have lots coming in from the farm right now, so I might try it with other greens.

Approximate cost to prepare:

1 cup french green lentils - $1.00

1 bunch spinach - $1.25

2 large onions - $.50

1 cup cilantro - $.50

1 lime - $.25

1/2 pound pasta shells - $1.00

mint, cumin, olive oil, aromatics - negligible

TOTAL for 4 people - $4.00

A nice spicy but fruity red wine would go great with this. Try a Santa Barbara Syrah.

Wine-Braised Lentils

I normally think of lentils as being pretty bland, but these are full of flavor and they make excellent leftovers. This recipe comes from the "supper sandwiches" section of the cookbook. Although it features something over bread, it certainly didn't seem like a sandwich.

The red wine in the lentils, along with aromatics and tomato paste really give these lentils a wonderful flavor. The recipe called for french green lentils, which I decided to try even though I had regular lentils on hand. The green lentils are smaller and they have a firmer texture. They were super yummy, but I bet plain lentils would be fine in this, too. The red pearl onions are really tasty with this dish, but too fussy for me. In the future I will just used sauteed onions, or better yet, caramelized onions. The recipe calls for chard, spinach, or other greens. I happened to have spinach in the fridge, so that's what I used. This would also be fine without the greens, though they lend flavor, color and nutritive value.

This dish didn't take long to cook. Here's how you get started.

Rinse 3/4 cup french green lentils (or other lentils). Parboil them for 5 minutes, and drain.

Dice 1 large carrot, 1 small onion, and 1 or two celery ribs (about 1/3 cup each). Heat a little olive oil in a sauce pan and saute the veggies over medium-high heat until browned a little. Add one crushed garlic clove and 1 T. tomato paste, mixing well. Add 1 1/2 cups dry red wine and 1 t. dijon mustard. Add 1 1/2 cups water, 1 t. salt, and the drained lentils. Simmer covered 30-40 minutes until the lentils are done.

While the lentils are cooking, blanch 12 red pearl onions and peel off the skins. Saute them in olive oil for about 5 minutes or until they begin to color. Add a splash of wine or water toward the end to deglaze the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

Wash one big bunch of greens. With the water still clinging to it, wilt the greens in a skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Stir the cooked greens into the lentils, add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil, taste and season.

Toast 4 slices country bread and rub each slice with halved garlic. Spoon the lentils over the bread and garnish with the onions.

Things I'd do differently next time: Start one or 2 onions cooking over low heat before starting the lentils. Let them caramelize while the lentils are cooking. Use the same pan for cooking the greens to cut down on dirty dishes.

Approximate cost to prepare:

3/4 cup french green lentils (organic) - $.75

1 onion - $.20

1 carrot - $.10

1/3 cup celery - $.10

1 1/2 cups red wine - $1.00

12 red pearl onions - $.90

1 bunch spinach - $2.00

4 slices country bread - $1.50

TOTAL for 4 people = $6.55