lentils and lamb and... pumpkin?

I sautéed a chopped half-onion, half-carrot, half-parsnip, and half-pepper along with a small lamb shank in lots of olive oil in my pressure cooker. I added half a cup of french green lentils, one cup water, and a tsp each of salt and cumin. Then, in a refrigerator-clearing move, I added the flesh from a small pumkin-like squash (the 'fuzz says its name starts with a "k").

I put the lid on and took the cooker to high pressure for 14 min and then let it cool down for 15 min. I opened the cooker, pulled the meat off the bone, chopped it, and stirred everything together into pumpkin-lamb dal. I added more salt, as usual. The 'fuzz made couscous to go with. Slightly sweet and very delicious!

lentil soup

This was great for lunch with a crusty baguette (we tried the new "La Tradi" from Eric Borderon's artisinal bakery in Quebec City).

• in a heavy-bottomed pan, sweat a cup of classic mirepoix in a bit of olive oil (covered at medium-low heat)
• add half a cup of small green lentils, a small handful each of red-skinned potato, rutabaga and zuccini and a sprig of thyme
• all the veg should be chopped or diced medium (the size of a green pea)
• add eight cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer for about half an hour
• season with salt (about two teaspoons) and pepper when the lentils are tender

leftover risotto soup

I had some leftover risotto kicking around in the freezer from this summer and an old bag of red lentils that never seemed to get used and were "bothering me". So I

• sweat a large onion in some olive oil, added a bit of diced carrot and celery, the washed lentils (about 1.5 cups), some thyme, a pinch of dried ginger and around 6 cups very light chicken stock (1 can + 5 cans of water)
• brought this to a boil and simmered until the lentils were tender
• stirred in the risotto to make a nicely thicked soup
• adjusted seasoning with salt and pepper

Lentils and rice is, of course, a classic combination, but using the leftover risotto gave me all sorts of bonus complexity at no added cost in time. "But PMC," you say, "isn't risotto making a branch of rocket science? Doesn't make this dish unfit for this forum?" Not so, as I think you'll see here.

lentils and spinach

There are about five dishes in my "repertoire" that date from the two years I spent as a vegetarian, a period which sadly coincided with my first trip to France (and ML's only one to date). When I think that I went out of my way to eat...Tibetan veggie! in Paris and that ML not only joined me but agreed to marry me a year later despite my obvious perversion, I see that the gods have truly smiled upon me. I've since rejoined the ranks of the omnivorous and made up for lost time in the Paris bistros, n'est-ce pas? When we tire of the blood pudding and great joints of mutton, like last Thursday night, I still like to make up a batch of L'n'S.

Slice a large cooking onion and fry in olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat until edges start to brown. Add a heaping cup of dry lentils (I like the small DuPuy kind), washed and picked over for stones. Add 2–3 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer covered for 20–30 minutes until lentils are quite tender. Check once in a while and add water if needed. You want about 1/2 cup of "pot liquor" to remain when the lentils are fully cooked. Add about 10 oz. of chopped fresh spinach (not baby spinach), 1 tsp. ground cumin and 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt. Stir, cover and rest off heat for about 10 minutes. Taste and add more salt (1/4 tsp. at a time) until you think, "Damn! Lentils and spinach, where have you been all my life?" Eat with rice.

By the way, the kids love this. Did I mention this was lentils and spinach?