NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
November 4, 1999
Every fall I go in search of new comfort foods, those hearty concoctions that warm body and soul. By definition, my culinary expedition requires me to explore some new ingredients, combinations, tastes, textures and cooking procedures.
For some reason, recipes featuring lentils always draw my interest. There are three main lentil varieties: the French or European, which is grayish-brown in color; the Egyptian or red; and the yellow. I like the texture of lentils, in particular, but I also enjoy the creative way many cooks have incorporated these pulses into casseroles and other dishes.
I've come across a lot of recipes for lentil soup, such as garlicky lentil soup, a tomato-lentil soup with bacon, and a rather odd soup combining lentils and roasted eggplant. I've seen recipes for lentils with pasta and some for chili with lentils. In fact, I've experimented with a vegetarian chili loaded with lentils that turned out to be quite tasty.
The lentil recipe that follows is an adaptation of an unusual one featured on the Searchable Online Archive of Recipes at the University of California, Berkeley (http://soar.Berkeley.EDU/recipes/).
What I find to be so different about this casserole is the cream sauce and bread crumbs. Perhaps its creation was the result of divine inspiration. The consistency of Monastery Lentils resembles that of scalloped corn. The casserole contains many of the same ingredients as Dal, a spicy Indian dish that may include lentils, along with tomatoes, onions and various seasonings.
Monastery Lentils
Yield: 8 servingsIngredients:
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 large carrots, diced
½ teaspoon each--dried thyme and marjoram, crumbled
4 cups canned tomatoes, chopped
2 cups low-fat chicken broth
1 cup brown (French) lentils
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup hot skim (fat-free) milk
¼ cup cooking sherry
1 cup coarse bread crumbs
¼ cup chopped fresh parsleyProcedure:
Using a 3- or 4-quart Dutch oven, saute onion and carrots in 1 tablespoon oil along with thyme and marjoram for three to five minutes over medium heat. Add tomatoes, broth and lentils. Simmer 45 minutes. Meanwhile, make cream sauce by cooking together in a small saucepan 1 tablespoon oil and flour for two or three minutes over medium heat. Add hot milk and allow sauce to thicken. Add sherry to sauce. Combine sauce, bread crumbs and parsley with lentil mixture and stir. Adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake at 350 F for 30 to 40 minutes. If desired, serve with meatloaf, buttered egg noodles and steamed broccoli.
What's Your Take on This, Julie?
Comfort foods can be nutritious as well as stomach warming, especially when they contain legumes, which include lentils, chickpeas, black, red and navy beans. These protein-rich plant foods are a good source of fiber, protein, folic acid and iron. Legumes are included in the meat group on the Food Guide Pyramid because they are good sources of protein. A half-cup of beans or lentils counts as 1 ounce of meat.
Legumes are among the best sources of fiber. Eating plenty of fiber can reduce your risk of heart disease and several types of cancer, but most of us fall short of the 20- to 35-gram daily goal. If you decide to increase fiber in your diet, proceed slowly and drink ample fluids, or the additional fiber could cause gas or constipation. If you are older than 65 or have had gastrointestinal surgery, talk to your physician before increasing your fiber intake.
Be especially cautious about adding fiber to children's diets, because the extra fiber may fill them up and reduce their appetites for other nutritious foods. Children need a balance of nutrients to maintain regular growth. The usual recommendation for children's fiber consumption is age plus five--so a 5-year-old's optimum daily fiber intake would be 10 grams.
To increase your fiber intake, start your day with a breakfast including fiber-rich grains such as bran cereal, oatmeal, whole-bran muffins or whole-wheat waffles. For lunch, use whole-wheat bread or other fiber-rich variety breads in your sandwich. Add legumes, such as a hearty bean soup or three-bean casserole, to your menu. Leave the peelings on your fruits and vegetables (but wash them well), and aim for 5 A Day--that's at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables a day. A serving of fruit or vegetables consists of 3/4 cup of juice, 1/2 cup of frozen, fresh or canned fruit, 1 cup of salad greens, or one medium whole fruit such as an apple or an orange.
Finally, read food labels for cues about fiber content. Look for the words "bran" or "whole wheat" on the ingredient list or phrases such as "high in fiber" on the label.
This week's divine recipe includes lentils, a food with numerous biblical references. In fact, some sources cite lentils as the first seeds to be used as food. A serving of Monastery Lentils contains 210 calories, 4 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, 18 percent of the daily recommendation for iron and a full day's supply of vitamin A as beta carotene.
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Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187
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