Citrus and fennel lentil salad

Some people don't think of lentils as a very summery food.  After all, lentil soup is often their main purpose (or if you are Indian and vegetarian, everything is their main purpose, but that's not what I mean).  But lentils can make a nice salad when paired with the right vinaigrette.  However, you should probably use green because in my experience brown lentils just taste... blah.  No matter what you do to them they are just bland.  Green lentils tend to absorb flavor a little better, so I like to cook up a cup with garlic, shallots and bay leaf to give them a nice flavor and then use them in a variety of things.  Even summer things.

Truthfully, to make this a totally summery salad, one should probably use fresh fennel.  I used dried, ground fennel because i figured it would be a great chance to dig into my spice drawer of rarely used spices and I didn't want to buy the fresh stuff.  But the fresh stuff would definitely look nicer.

So this salad (and I should have taken a picture, but now it's half gone and no longer pretty) consists of 3-4 parts: lettuce, veggie "salsa", lentils and dressing.  You could really use any veggies you have on hand, but I like to use onions, peppers and tomatoes in everything.  They are my go to veggies.  And being in Georgia, in summer, vidalias are all over the place, but red onion would be great in this too.

As for the dressing, this is where I get to (I think for the second time) remind you how to make a good vinaigrette.  The key is emulsifying, usually done by adding an emulsifier: mustard, honey, eggs, I think buttermilk also works as an emulsifier, but that's obviously the opposite of a vinaigrette, but it explains why mustard or buttermilk or something along these lines appears in almost dressing.  And then of course, blending.  Putting everything in a jar and shaking is not enough to make a good vinagrette.  And there is something about adding the oil at the end from a height of like 6 inches or something.  I should check that out and get back to you and give you good advice.  But my favorite emulsifier is honey.  And it's usually the only one I have on hand (well, I have eggs, but I'm scared to put raw eggs in salad dressing, but that's what they all seem to do.

I've been watching Top Chef lately, so please excuse the overly detailed "flavor profile" I'm going to include.  Overall, it tastes fresh, like summer.  That's the point.  The citrus and cilantro hit you up front (and that is in my opinion, unless you are eating burgers or corn on the cob, the quintessential summer taste) and then the aftertaste is refreshing fennel.  Mint would also work, I think.  The lentils add texture and protein, but don't really affect the taste.

I'm trying a layout that very much works with my cooking process.  Make each component at once.  So make sure you read the whole thing if you are interested in recreating this.  I guess one of the components is as much romaine lettuce as you want to use, that doesn't really require much thought.

Citrus and Fennel Lentil Salad
Serves 2-3
Lentils
1/2 c green lentils
1 c water
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
salt, to taste

Put everything in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed, about 30 minutes.  Note, I used slightly less water because I like my lentils a little firmer, I'm not a fan of when they turn to mush, and I always worry that if I add too much water they will.

Set aside.   I like it best if they are a little warm on top of the salad.

Veggie Salsa
I call this a salsa because if you chopped everything a little finer and added a chili, that's what it would be.  Remember, this is where you can use what you have on hand.  The size which you chop the veggies doesn't really matter, if you try to keep them consistent
1 medium tomato roughly chopped
1 medium vidalia onion (or red onion), roughly chopped
1 green pepper, roughly chopped
1/4 c cilantro.  But remember, I REALLY like cilantro.  Feel free to back off
Pinch of orange zest (optional, but very nice)

Fennel dressing
Juice of one lemon (lime would likely work)
1/4 tsp ground fennel (fresh of course would be better and then you could garnish it with that too)
Pinch of marjoram (for some reason I think of marjoram as being a good supporter of fennel)
Freshly ground salt and pepper
1/4-c olive oil, those who like the taste of extra virgin should use that
1/2 tsp-1 tsp honey

Combine lemon juice, fennel, marjoram salt and pepper in a blender.  Pour oil while mixing (swirling), add honey and blend until homogeneous.

Serve over romaine lettuce, however much you want.  I layered the veggie salsa on the lettuce, then the warm lentils and poured the dressing on top.  I ate it with grapes, and thought that went well, very summery.

Braised lentils with Winter Greens and a Fried Egg

I'm not Southern, not in the least bit.  I do not eat almost anything considered "Southern," I hate being called ma'am, and, well, I'm from Wisconsin.  Tonight's dinner is probably as close to Southern as I will ever get, and the only thing that made it "Southern" were the steamed greens.  I bought a bag (notice the Wisconsin accent right there) of "steamin' greens" from Trader Joe's to cover this part of it.  I might consider this the perfect winter meal: warm and comforting, not too expensive, super healthy, and delicious.  Too bad today was a beautiful, almost spring day, the winter comfort wasn't really necessary.  However, my schedule is such that I can't cook a real meal on Tuesdays, which means if I want something specific to the weather on Tuesday, I have to cook it Monday, and since this makes 2 servings, I might as well eat it today.  Oh well, the point is it's delicious.  I'll do my best to compute the cost, I'm sure it's over a dollar, but that's okay this week :).

The recipe jumped out at me on my google reader, it came from Serious Eats; this recipe is copied straight from there. No, I am not genius enough to come up with this myself.  Both the lentils and the greens were so flavorful, and the fried egg on top was a great addition, even though I'm (still) terrible at frying eggs.  The yoke is never runny enough.

Also, I'm not sure (if anyone could answer this for me, it would be great) why the lentils are considered "braised."  It never actually specified when to add them (I added that myself based on context clues), but as far as I (and wikipedia) knows braising is reserved for meat.  And this doesn't even mirror the process described there, the only thing special about it is cooking lentils with red wine (best concept EVER).

I do need to start posting my own recipes, otherwise this blog is somewhat useless (except for the fact that I filter a lot of recipes for you, to bring you the delicious grad student friendly meals, and try to throw ethnic twists in it).  This one is especially great since it makes food for 2 (though I could definitely see only one person eating it).  And of course, it is vegetarian.

Braised Lentils with Winter Greens and a Fried Egg

- serves 2 -
Adapted from Last Night's Dinner.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup French green lentils
1 bunch winter greens, such as kale, chard, collards, etc.
1 shallot, peeled and minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes, or to taste
Splash of lemon juice or sherry vinegar
salt and black pepper
2 eggs

Procedure

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and saute until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add 1 cup water and the red wine, bring to a boil, add lentils, and simmer, covered, until the lentils are tender but not mushy, 30 minutes or so (this took me more than 30 minutes, closer to 45, maybe I should have soaked them?). Add more water as necessary. Season to taste with salt.
2. In the meantime, wash the greens and slice the leaves away from the stems and roughly chop the leaves. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil, garlic, and chili flakes in a saucepan or large skillet until fragrant, then add the leaves along with 1/4 cup or so of water and a pinch of salt. Cover, turn the heat to medium-low, and allow the leaves to steam as the water evaporates, tasting for tenderness and adding more water as necessary. Finish with lemon juice or vinegar to taste, and perhaps more olive oil.
3. When the lentils and greens are nearing completion, heat the remaining oil in a small non-stick skillet and fry the eggs sunny-side-up, about 3 minutes over medium-low heat, until the whites are set but the yolk is still runny.
Note: I actually fried the egg, so I added a flip, which overcooked it slightly, but at least I'm sure it won't make me sick.
4. Serve the greens on a bed of lentils, topped with the egg and fresh black pepper.

Oops, the cost: using lentils that were 44 cents a cup, Trader Joe's wine, and pre-bagged mixed greens, I'd estimate it at about $3.50 for two servings.  But it's worth it.

Spicy Red Lentil Soup

I made this a couple months ago and haven't written about it yet.  This recipe is thanks to the 400 Best Budget Recipes from ctheflute :).  I bought split red lentils last time I went to the farmers market and realized that either the recipes with split red lentils were not that good or I didn't like them.  But I had about 4 cups that I needed to use.  Then I found this recipe.  It wasn't the best lentil recipe ever, but it was the best split red lentil recipe I've found and it was cheap and used some ingredients I don't use very often (namely fenugreek and, well split red lentils)

Spicy Red Lentil Soup
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 fresh red chili, seeded and finely chopped*
1 carrot, grated
scant tsp ground fenugreek
2-3 tbsp olive or sunflower oil
1-2 tsp cumin seeds (I would probably recommend ground instead)
1-2 tsp coriander seeds (I used ground)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 generous cup red split lentils (this means 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp)
7 1/2 cups veggie stock (I'm pretty sure I cut this down to 3 cups veggie stock and 2 cups water)
Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped red onion for serving

1. Heat oil in heavy pan and stir in onion, garlic, pepper, cumin and coriander seeds.  When onion begins to color, toss the carrot and cook 2-3 minutes.  Add the fenugreek, sugar and tomato paste. Stir in the lentils
2. Pour in the stock, stir well and bring to the boil.  Lower the heat, partially cover the pan and simmer for 30-40 minutes until lentils have broken up.
3. Serve straight from the pan or blend for a smooth texture.  Sprinkle with red onion.

*Since this will likely be a habenero, you should use gloves to seed and chop it

A use for my masala seasoning

So I bought some masala seasoning from the farmers market at the beginning of this year because I had every intention of making my own Indian food. And because it was only 50 cents for a big container. However, after a bad experience making Indian food from a bottle, I got scared and didn't use it. I also have a tendency to buy lentils every year without a plan, and often end up giving them away. This year I've actually been using them (lentil burgers), but I found a spicy lentil recipe and decided to give it a try. Then I realized that this recipe wasn't exactly what I wanted, so I based my lentils (very) roughly on it, but mostly did my own thing. Unfortunately I didn't measure anything, but I'm pretty sure anyone could adjust this to taste. Therefore, this recipe will be a little backwards, with the description of what I did and an estimate of what I used (notes on what I recommend are in the summary of what I did)

I first cooked a 1/2 cup of lentils according to the package directions. Well, sort of, half way through cooking, I chopped up 5-6 baby carrots and threw them in to make them soft.

Meanwhile, I cooked about half an onion (I mixed leftover vidalia and red) and a clove of garlic (I used a big one and would recommend at least twice that, if not more as I had to add garlic powder later). I should have cooked this spices with them at this point, but unfortunately, I did not have that much forsight. I added a green onion and some cilantro and cooked it on low for a while. THEN I added the spices (some were probably redundant, but it allowed me to get it perfectly to my liking): masala seasoning (probably almost a tablespoon when all was said and done), tumeric, coriander, a very small dash of ginger, cayanne pepper (which was apparently the most redundant of all), and cumin. I continued cooking until the lentils were done. Then I added that to the lentils, tasted it and realized I had significantly underseasoned it. So I added all of those things plus salt and garlic powder to the full mixture and cooked until blended. I added a little more cilantro shortly before serving. It was decently spicy and definitely not bland. All in all my ingredient list probably looked like this:

1/2 c lentils
5 baby carrots
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1 green onion
1-2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
oil for cooking
1 Tablespoon masala seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayanne pepper
1/2+ teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2+ teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ginger