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The
Frugal Foodie:
The Lovable Lentil
In a woman’s magazine I picked up
recently, an entire section was devoted to the
lentil. Which got me to thinking, what is so
great about lentils? And honestly, why had I
never tried them? What were they,
really? If they’re all the rage with the hip
moms in
Cookie Magazine, then I wanted a piece of
the action.
The recipes in the magazine were
a little too strange to appeal to my children.
So, I went online in search of the perfect
lentil recipe for my own frugal family. What
follows is what I ended up with based on the
ingredients I had at home:
Crock Pot Lentil Stew
1 1/2 C lentils, rinsed and
drained
2 cans diced tomatoes
3 carrots, diced
2 onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. paprika
4 C. chicken broth
1/2 C. white wine
1 ring bologna or sausage, cut
into 1" pieces
1 C. Herbs: Rosemary, parsley,
basil
Saute onions and carrots in extra
virgin olive oil approximately 10 minutes.
Stir in paprika. Combine onion/carrot
mixture in crock pot along with other
ingredients. Cook on low at least 5-6
hours. Serve topped with freshly grated
Parmesan cheese.
During dinner my husband asked,
“So, exactly what is a
lentil?" Wanting to appear like a culinary
expert I quickly responded, “They’re in the same
family as peas and chickpeas.” Really, I wasn’t
completely sure what they were either. So,
behind his back a little later I looked it up to
see if my answer was right. This is what the
dictionary has to say about lentils:
Lentil:
(species
Lens esculenta), small annual legume of the pea
family (Leguminosae) and its lens-shaped edible
seed, which is rich in protein and one of the
most ancient of cultivated foods
I really wasn’t sure if a food of
such a mysterious origin would be so well
accepted from my suspicious husband and finicky
kids. However, when my husband suggested I make
it again and my kids didn’t turn up their noses
I knew I had a hit on my hands. I happily
report that lentils will be making an encore
performance on our dinner table some evening
soon. -- FF
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