Email to Linda Leone      

LENTILS, basic

Source of Recipe

Oregonian


List of Ingredients

Cooking with lentils

Before cooking, carefully rinse and sort lentils. It's not uncommon to find small stones and field debris among them.
Don't add acidic ingredients like tomatoes, vinegar or lemon juice to lentils until they are done cooking. Acids keep uncooked lentils from becoming tender, though it's fine to add acids once the lentils are soft.
Worried about gas? Spices such as fresh ginger and asafetida are reputed to help break down the complex sugars that cause digestive discomfort -- part of the reason those ingredients are common in many Indian and Asian recipes.



Recipe

Presoaking is not necessary. For each pound (2 cups) use 8 cups water. Simmer gently with lid tilted until desired tenderness is reached, 15-20 minutes.

How to build lentil fortitude: A primer to get you started

Lentils are one of the world's super foods and have a rich history -- they've been found in Egyptian tombs dating back 2,400 years, and there's evidence of their use in the Middle East more than 8,000 years ago. Here's what makes them such an essential food:

Lentils are cousins of beans, and part of the legume family (seeds that grow within pods), and are widely cultivated throughout the world. In the United States, eastern Washington is one of the largest growing regions.
Health magazine calls lentils one of the five most healthful foods in the world, and it's easy to see why. They are high in protein, dietary fiber, folate and vitamin B1, and are a rich source of thiamin and iron -- all with just a trace amount of fat.
How much protein are we talking about? Twenty-six percent of the calories in lentils come from protein, which puts them just behind soy beans and hemp in the plant world for protein level by weight.
Lentils come in a rainbow of colors: yellow, pink, red, orange, brown, green and black. The green and black varieties are the best at keeping their shape during cooking.
Research suggests that regular consumption of lentils can play a role in lowering blood cholesterol and reducing the risk of diabetes