Lentils for September

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I keep hearing from miserable people who are living through hurricane trails or the wet and nasty aftermath of the storms coming out of the Atlantic. Those storms run up the western coast of the Atlantic, then cool off really well in the north and rumble back over the ocean to Europe. This recipe is dedicated to those who need some warmth and some love wherever they may be.

This is the absolutely basic recipe for cooking lentils in Italy. One could just boil them in water without sofritto, salt or seasonings, but why? This is how to make them good, delicious, healthy and Italian. That pink stain, by the way, is where I tried elderberry vinegar as a condiment. It’s fine, but this dish doesn’t really need a condiment.

These are the most precious lentils you may ever see. They are Lenticchie di Castelleucci, a place in Umbria that is famous for growing tiny, perfect and flavorful lentils that are unlike any I have seen anywhere. I photographed these with a three inch paring knife blade so that you could see how small they are. No matter which lentils I use or how I cook them, the recipe begins with spreading them out on a plate and checking them for anything that isn’t lentils. That’s important.

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This is the closest I ever get to vegan cookery.

Lentils italiane

4 soup bowl servings

250 g (8 or 9 ounces) firm lentils
half a carrot minced finely
half an onion minced finely
celery minced finely to equal the onion and carrot
1 tablespoon of good olive oil
water to cover, qb
about 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds, crushed or ground
about 1.5 teaspoons salt or perfumed salt that we made last week

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Heat the oil in a heavy pan and then sauté the three vegetables until softened and the onion is browning. Add the lentils and stir about. Cover them with water and bring them to a simmer, then simmer them until done. Lentils from Castelleucci take about 20 minutes to cook. Check the package of your lentils for an estimate of the time that will take. Halfway through is when I add the salt.

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It’s a good idea when making lentils to check them frequently as they come close to the end of the cooking time so that you can stop the cooking when they are done, but still firm. Lentils from Castelleucci need that attention even more, because if they are overcooked, the very thing that makes them so precious will be lost. We are not making soup here. Biting into the just cooked lentils reminds me a bit of eating nuts, but less firm. More, perhaps, like caviar, except good instead of fishy and pricey. I am eating them exactly as you see them this time, with bread to make a complete protein, although farro, rice or even pasta would serve as well. I really wanted a hot wholewheat roll, but it was too much to ask of Barzotti today.

You can also use these cooked lentils in recipes asking for them. I’m afraid I like them so well that there are never any left to turn into salads and pasticchi. They keep well and may even be better when reheated. Lentils are really a prize, come to think of it.

Any lentils can be cooked this way, but those that don’t have their skins will turn into mush, which is also good, but not the same thing at all. I don’t really know how widely available these special lentils are. Even with these lentils this is an economical dish, but these Castelleucci lentils are not cheap even here in Umbria where they grow. Use whatever lentil is reasonably priced where you are until you know if you like the recipe. Just avoid the skinless ones.

This would have been published hours ago if my keyboard hadn’t suddenly said my batteries were critical. Critical? They were dead. I removed them and replaced them with the other two rechargeable AAA batteries, which were also nearly dead, having been charged at the same time. Why do they die when doing nothing?

Oh well, lunch was fantastic.