Harvest is winding down and most crops are in the bin. In the gardens, the last of the vegetables are being picked or dug and the garden cleaned up. We are anxious to safely store the production from the garden to be enjoyed later. But how often do we make personal use of the crops from the fields?
Lentils are an example of a crop that many prairie farmers grow but few consume compared to other areas of the world.
Lentils are nutritious, easy to store and simple to prepare. Lentils will keep for a long time in a cool, dry place. After long storage, the colour may fade slightly, but the taste will not be noticeably altered.
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To prepare them, sort and remove debris. Then rinse and boil for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are chewy tender. There is no need to pre-soak lentils. Also, do not add salt to them while cooking because this will make them tough.
Once the lentils are cooked, they can be added to soups, stews, hamburgers, casseroles or salads. Cooking extra and freezing makes the lentils easily available to add to future meals. Lentil purée, which is similar in consistency to puréed pumpkin, can be used in baked goods or dips and it also freezes well.
To make the purée, wash the lentils, cover with water and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain but save the stock. Put the lentils in a blender and purée with enough stock to make a pumpkin-like consistency.
Lentils are healthy
One cup of cooked lentils provides more potassium than a banana.
One cup of cooked lentils provides 1/2 of a man’s daily iron requirement and 1/4 of a woman’s daily iron requirement. If eaten with a vitamin C food such as cabbage, tomatoes or oranges, the body can absorb more of the iron.
Lentils when combined with any grain (wheat, barley, oats or rice) provide a source of complete protein.
Lentil recipe wanted
Dear TEAM: I am looking for a recipe for lentil bread. I had it recently and it was delicious. – Reader from Saskatoon.
Dear Reader: Lentil bread is a traditional Indian bread called daal poori. It is made from leftover daal (lentil curry) and often served fried. Fragrant and rich in fibre and extra protein, this bread can be made in a bread machine.
I will often mix up a batch of bread dough in my machine and then remove it after the mixing cycle and make it into buns and bake them in the oven. The following recipe works well this way as well. This is a delicious grainy bread. I think it would be really good with two tablespoons each of sunflower seeds and flax seeds added to the flour.
Lentil bread
11/3 cups water 325 mL
2 cups whole-wheat flour 500 mL
2 cups bread flour 500 mL
1 cup lentils, cooked and 250 mL
drained
2 tablespoons olive oil 30 mL
2 tablespoons honey 30 mL
1 teaspoon salt 5 mL
21/2 teaspoons yeast 12 mL
To cook the lentils
1/3 cup dried lentils (any type) 75 mL
11/3 cups water 325 mL
1/2 teaspoon rosemary, crushed 2 mL
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed 5 mL
Combine the lentils, water, rosemary and thyme in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 30 minutes or until lentils are tender but not mushy, then drain.
Mix all the ingredients together into your bread machine.
Set the machine’s appropriate cycle and bake. Or you can remove the dough and shape into buns, allow to rise until double in size, and then bake in a 350 F (180 C) oven 15-20 minutes or until well browned.
In the traditional Indian recipe the dough is shaped into golf-ball sized portions by rolling them over a lightly floured surface. Then they are flattened slightly and fried in oil until brown.
Source: www.bread-maker.net/bread-maker-recipes/Lentil-Bread.htm.
Lentil granola bars
2/3 cup shredded coconut 150 mL
1 cup chopped walnuts 250 mL
2 cup rolled oats 500 mL
1 cup brown sugar 250 mL
2/3 cup all bran cereal 150 mL
3/4 cup puréed cooked lentils 175 mL
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup canola oil 125 mL
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
In mixing bowl, combine coconut, walnuts, rolled oats, brown sugar and cereal. Add lentil purée, egg and oil.
Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Spread into a 10 x 15 inch (40 x 25 cm) cookie sheet, which has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Place oven rack in centre of oven; bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut while still warm into two inch (five cm) squares. Makes 35 bars.
Source: Manitoba Pulse Growers Association, www.manitobapulse.ca.
Greek lentil salad
1 can lentils 540 mL
or 2 cups cooked lentils 500 mL
1/4 cup broccoli 60 mL
1/4 cup red or green onion, 60 mL
chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes 250 mL
1/4 cup green and/or red 60 mL
peppers
1/4 cup cucumber 60 mL
1/4 cup mushrooms 60 mL
1 small apple, chopped
1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped 30 mL
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese 60 mL
Dressing
6 tablespoons olive oil 90 mL
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon oregano 15 mL
In a large bowl, combine all vegetables. Mix dressing, add feta cheese and pour over vegetables.
Mix salad gently and leave in fridge to marinate for two hours before serving.This salad will keep well for three days.
Source: Alberta Pulse Growers, www.pulse.ab.ca.
Betty Ann Deobald is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
