Fundamental lentils

How old are lentils? Here’s one clue: People who say lentils are shaped like lenses have the reference backwards. Turns out that the world’s first lenses got that name because they were shaped, yes, like lentils. The lentils came first. Way first.

Lentils are Pompeii old. Ezekiel old. Ancient Sumeria old. Stone Age old.

Before there were virtually any other legumes, there were lentils, offering up protein and iron and an earthy, nutty flavor to anyone smart enough to boil some water and cook them. Their appeal endures: They’re a staple of Indian cooking, they’re featured in one of the national dishes of Egypt, and if you were in Italy or Brazil or Chile on New Year’s Day you probably ate lentils in some form as a symbol of prosperity (they also resemble coins, not just lenses).

Still, it’s all too easy to take them for granted. We’ll always have lentils, won’t we?

In America, where their cookery is relatively young, there seem to be several phases of lentil awareness: 1) The soup/stew phase, aka the Moosewood phase, in which chilis and burgers and loaves abound. 2) The French phase, aka the salad phase, in which we learn how to pronounce “du Puy.” 3) The dal phase, aka Indian-food-is-so-much-more than-curries phase. 4) The anything-goes phase, aka the true-lentil-enlightenment phase, in which we start to ask: What can’t lentils do?

I’m squarely at the beginning of Phase 4. As a relatively new vegetarian, I’ve been realizing that lentils can - nay, should - be nothing short of a dietary staple. Let’s quickly review the reasons: They’re nutritious. They’re inexpensive. They’re quick-cooking. (All together now: No soaking!) But what I’m realizing is that, possibly best of all, they’re more versatile than I had ever imagined.

Because lentils are one of the best plant-based sources of protein on the planet, their ability to play the part of meat can’t be overstated. “Indeed, the phrase so often applied to the lentil, ‘the poor man’s meat,’ is only derogatory if you put the emphasis on ‘poor man’s’ instead of on ‘meat,’” writes Waverly Root in Food, his 1980 tome. “This may well have been meant as a compliment by the first users of the phrase.”

This recipe turns lentils into something more like nuts: crunchy and irresistible as a snack, but also good on salads and grains and, as cookbook author Mollie Katzen suggests, layered between beets and yogurt in a savory parfait.

Fried Lentils

1 cup dried lentils, preferably smaller red, yellow, black beluga or French du Puy

Safflower oil, olive oil or grapeseed oil, for frying

Salt

Put the lentils in a bowl with water to cover. Soak for 1 hour.

Drain the lentils in a fine mesh strainer, shaking out as much excess water as you can, then lay them out on absorbent towels in a single layer to dry.

(Gently shake the lentils around a bit from time to time to help speed up the drying.)

Set a paper-towel-lined plate and a slotted spoon by the stove. Pour the oil to a depth of ¼ -inch in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot enough to sizzle a lentil on contact, carefully add just enough lentils to form a single layer. Fry, stirring occasionally, until they crisp and become slightly translucent around the edges, 5 to 6 minutes. (Red lentils will turn yellow; French du Puy lentils will turn brown.)

Use the slotted spoon to lift out the lentils in batches, holding and slightly tilting each scoop over the pan to let the oil drain off, then transfer them to the lined plate. Salt lightly.

Repeat with the remaining lentils, being sure to wait until the oil is instant-sizzle-hot before adding the lentils.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 1 ½ cups.

Adapted from The Heart of the Plate by Mollie Katzen (Houghton Mifflin, 2013)

Creamy, fresh mozzarella pairs well with earthy lentils, sharpened with a vinaigrette, in this dish. Serve with bread as an appetizer or salad, or as a side dish, warm or at room temperature.

Lentils and Mozzarella

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided use

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 rib celery, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, scrubbed well then finely chopped

1 cup dried French du Puy lentils, rinsed

Fine sea salt

½ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

¼ cup fresh dill, chives, basil or mint, or a combination, finely chopped

Ground black pepper

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced or torn into bite-size pieces

Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds OR toasted pine nuts

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the garlic, celery and carrot; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add the lentils, ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt and just enough water to cover.

Increase the heat to bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat so it is barely bubbling around the edges; cook until the lentils are just soft, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain the lentils.

While the lentils are cooking, combine the mustard, vinegar,herbs, ¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt, and pepper to taste in the bowl of a food processor or blender, or in a small mixing bowl. Drizzle in the remaining ¼ cup of oil, pulsing or whisking by hand to form a vinaigrette.

Taste, and adjust seasoning as needed.

Spoon the warm lentils onto plates. Top with the mozzarella, and sprinkle the cheese with coarse sea salt. Scatter the almonds over the mozzarella and lentils, and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings.

Adapted from Feast by Sarah Copeland (Chronicle Books, 2013)

Authors Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence, the duo behind the blog Chubby Vegetarian, originally called for smoked sun-dried tomatoes in this recipe to layer the smoky flavors; those might be hard to find, but a dash of smoked paprika and regular sun-dried tomatoes will do the job.

Tacos With Spicy, Smoky Lentils

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small white onion, diced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika

½ teaspoon ancho chili powder

½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed

1 ½ cups water

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped (drained, if oil-packed)

¾ cup roasted salsa of your choice, homemade or store bought

12 small corn tortillas, flour tortillas or taco shells, warmed

1 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)

2 cups finely shredded green cabbage

4 large green onions, chopped

Flesh of 1 avocado, sliced or cubed

¼ cup sour cream

Lime wedges

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and stir to coat;

cook until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the cumin, salt, smoked paprika and chili powders; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the tomato paste, sesame oil, lentils, water, vinegar and sun-dried tomatoes; increase the heat to medium high to bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat so the mixture is barely bubbling, cover, and cook until all of the liquid has been absorbed and the lentils are tender but not falling apart, 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve family-style, setting out the lentils, salsa, tortillas, cheese, cabbage, green onion, avocado, sour cream and limes in separate bowls on the table and allowing diners to assemble their own tacos.

Makes 4 servings.

Adapted from The Southern Vegetarian by Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence (Thomas Nelson, 2013) Beluga lentils are so named because they resemble beluga caviar, and some creative vegetarian cooks have used them in recipes that play off the resemblance. This treatment uses kombu, a type of dried seaweed, which imparts the briny flavor of the sea.

Beluga Lentil “Caviar” With Potato Blini

For the “caviar”:

½ cup dried black beluga lentils, rinsed

2 cups water

2 pieces kombu (dried seaweed, about 2 inches by 2 inches)

1 tablespoon sea salt

1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the blini:

8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon water

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 egg

1 cup whole or low-fat buttermilk

Vegetable oil, for frying

½ cup creme fraiche OR sour cream or Greek-style yogurt

Coarse sea salt

¼ cup chopped fresh dill

Combine the lentils with the water, kombu and salt in a small pot over medium-high heat.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the mixture is barely bubbling around the edges; cover and cook until the lentils are just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow the lentils to cool in the liquid.

Discard the kombu, then drain the lentils and stir in the olive oil.

For the blini: Combine the potato, water and butter in a microwave-safe dish; cover and microwave on 100 percent power for 6 minutes or until the potato is tender. Cool.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the egg and buttermilk in a small bowl.

Run the cooled potato mixture through a ricer into the bowl with the flour mixture. (Or mash very thoroughly with a potato masher or fork.) Whisk the egg-buttermilk mixture into the flour-potato mixture.

Pour 1 tablespoon vegetable oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Once it shimmers, add batter 1 tablespoon at a time to form small pancakes. ( You’ll be able to fit about 5 blini at a time in a 12-inch skillet.) Cook until bubbles form all over the blinis’ surface and the blini are deeply browned on one side, 2 to 3 minutes; carefully flip and cook on the second side, then transfer to a plate. Working in batches, cook the remaining blini, adding oil to the pan between batches if it looks dry.

To assemble, top each blini with creme fraiche and a teaspoon of beluga lentils.

Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if desired, and with fresh dill.

Makes 6 to 8 servings (24 to 30 blini).

Adapted from The Southern Vegetarian by Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence (Thomas Nelson, 2013)

Lentils: Common types and cooking times

Go to a well-stocked Indian market, and you’ll find an overwhelming variety of dried lentils: different colors, some with skins on, some with skins off. But in most mainstream groceries, the varieties are limited to three or four.

Because the cooking time can vary by age and variety, follow the directions on the package for basic cooking. A good rule of thumb is to rinse the lentils under cold running water, then combine 1 cup lentils with 3 cups water and a pinch of salt, bring to a boil, reduce to a very gentle simmer, cover, and cook for the recommended amount of time.

Here’s what the most common varieties are best used for, and how long they typically take to cook.

Red, orange or yellow split lentils. Commonly used for Indian dal, these break up during cooking.

Best for mashes, soups and stews.

Cooking time: 15 to 25 minutes or more, depending on how soft and disintegrated you want them.

Black beluga lentils. Small, shiny and black, they resemble caviar and maintain their shape and firm texture when cooked.

Best for salads or appetizers, such as on blini.

Cooking time: 20 to 25 minutes.

French du Puy lentils. These small, blue-green-spotted lentils keep their shape when cooked and have a particularly creamy texture.

Best for cold or warm salads.

Cooking time: 25 to 30 minutes.

Brown or green lentils. Larger varieties, these can get mushy when overcooked but otherwise keep their shape. Good for sauces or for playing the part of meat in taco fillings, sloppy Joes and more.

Cooking time: 30 to 40 minutes.

• Joe Yonan