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The Lentil and Walnut Salad<\/em> from Nigella Express<\/a> is my absolute favorite lentil salad recipe.\u00a0Cooked French Puy (green) lentils are dressed in a walnut oil and sherry vinaigrette and served with chopped walnuts and chives. I like to add goat cheese, saut\u00e9ed mushrooms, and bacon for a balance of tangy, earthy, meaty, and herby flavor. Another unique lentil salad recipe can be found in the lovely cookbook,\u00a0Homemade<\/a>, where cook and illustrator Yvette Van Boven combines cooked green lentils with crunchy red apple, cilantro, sliced celery, golden raisins, and endive. A simple garlic-red wine vinaigrette brightens this winter dish.<\/p>\n Pam Anderson\u2019s new collection of recipes,\u00a0Cook Without a Book<\/a>, is full of vegetarian inspiration. I think her method of using stewed brown lentils with tomato, garlic, and onion for taco filling is very clever. It\u2019s a hearty mixture spiced with chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Serve the chili lentils buffet style with tortillas, taco shells, and her bright and refreshing\u00a0Cabbage Slaw<\/em>. I like a vegetarian recipe that doesn\u2019t force things, this is a smart and flavorful use of healthy ingredients for a satisfying meatless Monday supper.<\/p>\n Heidi Swanson shares a delightful recipe for\u00a0Beluga Lentil Crostini<\/a>\u00a0in her first book,\u00a0Super Natural Cooking<\/a>. She describes the flavor of these tiny black pulses as earthy with a bit of grassiness. During the last days of winter, before the first tender salad greens have sprouted, I could stave off my yearning for spring with one of her garlic-rubbed toasts, slathered in goat cheese with a sprinkling of chives and a spoonful of cooked beluga lentils.<\/p>\n It seems red lentil soup is en vogue right now. In the February issue of Food & Wine Magazine, Salma Abdelnour writes, \u201cI hope one result of all the eyes on Egypt will be a renewed interest in its culture, including its food traditions.\u201d Her article,\u00a0A Lesson in Egyptian Classics<\/a>, includes a recipe for\u00a0sherbet ads<\/em>,\u00a0Egyptian Red Lentil Soup<\/a>\u00a0spiced with cumin and chile. I like the \u201cArabic-style\u201d croutons sprinkled on top, which are torn pita breads fried until crunchy. I\u2019ll be making this soup on the blog tomorrow. I\u2019m also loving the recipes and photography in Whole Living Magazine, especially this\u00a0Red Lentil Soup with Turnip and Parsley<\/a>that was part of the 28 Day Mind+Body Challenge.<\/p>\n The recipe for\u00a0Peas and Lentils<\/em>\u00a0from the\u00a0Moro East<\/a>\u00a0cookbook by husband and wife chefs\u00a0Sam & Sam Clark<\/a>\u00a0brings a little bit of spring into the late winter pantry. I like the pairing of fresh vibrant flavors (think peas and herb infused lemon sauce) with earthy brown lentils. Plus, the ingredients can all be found easily this time of year. Cooked lentils are combined with cooked petit pois, fresh mint, sage, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar. The dish is meant to be served warm, and would be lovely aside roast chicken. I turn to the Moro cookbooks for their unique flavor combinations which are guaranteed to get me out of a cooking rut.<\/p>\n I first learned of\u00a0Lentils Castellucciano<\/em>\u00a0from Nancy Silverton\u2019s\u00a0Mozza Cookbook<\/a>, where she writes about using Umbrian lentils exclusively in her\u00a0Mozza restaurant<\/a>. Nancy shares that the small, brown-green lentils come from the Italian town of Castelluccio, where they prepare the lentils like a stew or ragu. The technique involves saut\u00e9ing diced proscuitto in a hot pan, then adding the holy trinity of diced onion, carrot, and celery, with garlic. A little tomato paste in the pan caramelizes, adding depth of flavor. Pour in the lentils and cook risotto style, adding a little stock at a time and stirring until the lentils are creamy. I found a similar recipe in the\u00a0Pasta Sfoglia<\/a>\u00a0cookbook, where\u00a0Chef Ron Suhanosky<\/a>\u00a0serves the lentils with penne and plenty of freshly grated Parmesan.<\/p>\n This recipe from Patricia Wells\u2019\u00a0Vegetable Harvest<\/a>\u00a0has several things going for it, first, lentils combine beautifully with other legumes, like starchy chickpeas. Also, curry powder adds pungent, spicy, floral, and earthy flavors to the dish. Lastly, greens like Swiss chard, spinach, or kale are also delicious with the earthy legumes. It\u2019s a simple dish, requiring the green lentils cook with sweated onions, a bouquet garni, and the spices for about 20 minutes. Canned chickpeas are added to the pot along with chopped Swiss chard to simmer for a few minutes. Serve the stew with Greek yogurt and toasted cumin seeds.<\/p>\n I\u2019m attracted to these\u00a0South Indian Lentil Cakes with Raita<\/a>\u00a0by Marcie Turney over at Savuer because #1 I love pancakes and #2 intense flavors and pretty colors of spicy ginger, aromatic basmati, fresh mint, green peas, and peppery lentils are more than welcome at my winter table. The green patties are assembled, then pan fried and served with raita, a garlicky yogurt sauce.<\/p>\n Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a genius, if only for including the fantastic recipe in\u00a0River Cottage EveryDay<\/a>\u00a0for pocket-pies filled with thyme-infused stewed lentils (green or brown) and butternut squash. The hearty filling is flavored with balsamic vinegar and hot English mustard, then spooned into Hugh\u2019s modified puff pastry recipe (though he says a short crust will do). After 25 minutes in the oven the pasties are golden and ready to pack for lunch.<\/p>\n Lentils and fish are another complimentary pairing. I like the contrast in texture between lentils and crispy, pan fried fish, exemplified in the recipe for\u00a0Pan-Roasted Striped Bass with Lentils<\/em>\u00a0from\u00a0The Young Man & The Sea<\/a>. Chef David Pasternack cooks lentils in mirepoix, diced pancetta, and water until tender, risotto style. Striped bass fillets are dredged in delicate Wondra flour and seared in hot oil. Serve the fish over the lentils with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt. \u00a0Or try the recipe for\u00a0Fried Red Mullet with Lentils, Lemon & Oil<\/em>\u00a0from\u00a0How to Roast a Lamb: New Greek Classic Cooking<\/a>. Lentils are braised in red wine with thyme, half the batch pureed, the other left whole. Red mullet fillets are coated with garlic puree and mustard, wrapped in sage, then dredged in flour, skewered and fried until golden brown. Sounds amazing, no?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’ve got creative ideas for cooking with lentils during winter: 1. \u00a0Lentil Salad The Lentil and Walnut Salad from Nigella Express is my absolute favorite lentil salad recipe.\u00a0Cooked French Puy (green) lentils are dressed in a walnut oil and sherry vinaigrette and served with chopped walnuts and chives. I like to add goat cheese, saut\u00e9ed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","spay_email":""},"categories":[95,201,211],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10659"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10659"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19289,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10659\/revisions\/19289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dsweb.jessicaotoole.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. \u00a0Chili Lentils for Tacos<\/h5>\n
3. \u00a0Beluga Lentil Crostini<\/h5>\n
4. \u00a0Lentil Soup<\/h5>\n
5. \u00a0Peas and Lentils<\/h5>\n
6. \u00a0Lentils Castellucciano<\/h5>\n
7. \u00a0Curried Chickpea, Lentil, and Swiss Chard Stew<\/h5>\n
8. \u00a0Lentil Cakes<\/h5>\n
9. \u00a0Lentil and Squash Pasties<\/h5>\n
10. \u00a0Lentils with Fish<\/h5>\n
What is your favorite way to cook with lentils? Let me know in the comments section. Click Here<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/h5>\n