lentils – Harmonious Belly

January 4, 2012

Food Lover’s Cleanse 2012, Day 1

As you may remember from last year, I did the two weeks of Bon Appetit’s Food Lover’s Cleanse – this is not one of those vinegar-cayenne-honey liquid cleanses, but is basically two weeks of eating real, whole foods after the abundance of fractured foods present at the holidays.

This year, I’m doing it again, though not as strictly as last year (it made lots of leftovers and was a little overwhelming). Plus I’ll change things up to be more compatible with NT ways of cooking. So with this in mind, I know 2012’s Food Lovers Cleanse is going to be a fun adventure.

In the tradition of being less strict, I didn’t start until Tuesday the 3rd. From the start I altered things. I chose for breakfast to do soaked oatmeal (rolled organic oats, since I don’t have any steel cut right now) with whole milk, grass-fed yogurt, and the last of the frozen blueberries from the summer. I also spiced it up with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg.

I was sad to see the blueberries go, but dang they were tasty. I will definitely freeze blueberries again next year, and in bigger quantities. I’m currently eating a pasteurized whole milk yogurt from Trader Joe’s, since I ran out of raw yogurt; I’ll get some more of the raw stuff soon. This is a pretty decent commercial product, though. I like that it’s full fat and made from the milk of cows that eat grass.

For lunch I ate leftover Hoppin’ John from new years – leftovers are actually called “Skippin’ Jenny” (one day delayed for me). I had some roasted butternut squash with that, too.

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March 1, 2010April 13, 2012

Sprouted Lentil Soup

sprouted lentil soup

So, last week I showed you how to sprout lentils, and also mentioned how they make for a delicious sprouted lentil soup. I made such a soup last week; it was a perfect dish for a cold winter night, and my household enjoyed it immensely.

The original recipe specifies using lentils du puy, a lovely little french lentil. To be honest, I’ve never tried sprouting these lentils, but I think it would be worth a shot. I used brown lentils, which are more common.

My favorite moment when making this soup is toward the beginning of the cooking process. Onions, leeks, and garlic cook with thyme and cumin, and it smells amazing. They don’t call them aromatics for nothing! I feel like I could eat just that sometimes.

onions, carrots, celery

The soup recipe came from an old copy of Food & Wine, in an article about Bobbi Brown, the founder of the cosmetics company bearing her name. She originally got the recipe from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

I halved the recipe; a full recipe will make 8 pints of soup! You can, of course, double what I indicate below, as it would be an excellent way to feed an army of people. This soup tastes even better the day after. It also freezes beautifully. Enjoy with a red wine of your choice (perhaps the same kind you put in the soup).

Sprouted Lentil Soup
adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

1/2 pound sprouted lentils
a generous glug of olive oil, plus more for serving
1 large onion
2 medium garlic cloves
3 large leeks, whited and tender green parts only, chopped
celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 tablespoon chopped thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 celery ribs, cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock or water
1 pint crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons dry red wine
freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onions, garlic, leeks, 1/2 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, the thyme and cumin, and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, 15-20 minutes.

Add the celery and carrots and cook until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Ad the stock/water, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and sprouted lentils to the pot. Increase the heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce the heat to moderate and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about an hour.

Stir in the red wine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of parmesan.

Makes 8 cups.

February 26, 2010September 2, 2011

Sprouting Lentils

I love sprouting lentils. It’s easy to do, fun to watch the lentils grow their little sprout tails, and by doing this their nutritional value gets a big boost. Sprouting also makes them easier to digest by neutralizing the phytic acid, which is found in all grains and seeds. Additionally, sprouted lentils provide two amino acids – methionine and cystine – that unsprouted lentils do not.

Throughout history, sprouting has been a traditional treatment of seeds and grains prior to eating. The Chinese knew about the benefits of sprouting centuries ago, sprouting mung beans in order to prevent scurvy (germinated seeds contain vitamin C ). In the West, myriad beers were made from sprouted grains.

lentils under water

lentils after first soaking

Your lentils must be organic; conventionally grown lentils will not sprout. Sprouting should only take a couple of days from start to finish. I like to use a colander as the vessel for my lentil sprouting. Here is a reasonable timeline:

In the evening put the lentils in a bowl and cover with water.
The next morning, rinse the lentils in a colander, and shake out as much water as you can. Leave the lentils in the colander, and place it on a plate covered with a towel. Cover the lentils with another towel and set someplace where the lentils will be undisturbed.
That evening, repeat the process. The next morning, repeat the process.
That evening, your lentils should have little sprouts coming out of them!

You can repeat this for a couple more days, depending on how long you want the sprouts to be. For lentils, it’s best for the sprouts to be no longer than a quarter inch.

rinsed lentils

baby sprouts

So, how do they taste? As delicious as unsprouted lentils. Just like with any legume, it’s best to not eat them raw. They are great lightly steamed, or used in my favorite way, in delicious sprouted lentil soup.

Happy sprouting!