North African stew night.
I like Lentils. there, I said it. They are in my top 5 things to cook list. Actually Lentils, while healthy as Hell and all, are actually alone, quite bland. So I guess what I mean is, I like to cook with lentils because it allows me to add any flavors and aromas I wish.
And last night I did so. Spring is threatening to hatch with warming days and cherry and plum buds bursting all over Canyon but the nights are still chilly, so i felt like a rich stew/soup thing. It was a natural to spring for the Red lentils and go full metal Africa on them.
I started out with a mirepoix and nice crush of garlic; a good place to start, adding a slug of cumin, turmeric, cardamon and cracked black pepper at first, and then some Spanish paprika (that is my spirit animal) a small dash of cayenne and a large dash of curry powder and more black pepper near the end of the sauté.
When the aroma smelled like Heaven and the mirepoix was approaching a golden sheen, I stirred in a cup of red lentils, a quart of home made chicken stock and an additional 2 cups of water for volume.
Covered it and brought it to a boil, then uncovered slightly and reduced the heat to med/low, leaning toward low so it just bubbled a bit in slow slurry of simmer. I pretty much just left it alone for 30 mins in this state, tasting once about 15 mins into its life cycle and gave it a bit more cayenne and black pepper - then turned my attention to a slab of salmon on the workbench.
There are a zillion ways to do salmon but I prefer simplicity. It's such a great, rich fish that it needs not too much more than a dusting of aromatics and spice and a proper quick grill/bake.
This was a good cut, Atlantic Salmon wild caught and I simply chopped some fresh dill, dusted it wth black pepper and garlic powder and drizzled some of my best olive oil (Persian lime infused) over it and just before enclosing in in foil to bake/steam it, squeezed half a lime from my garden over it.
Then into the 450 degree oven it went for 12-15 mins till it was steamed to a flaky perfection (took two peeks to get it just so).
The lentils after slow simmering for 30 minutes were like Ulysses' sirens calling to me and I turned off the heat, squeezed a lime into it and stirred in some chopped cilantro. Then pulled out an immersion blender and morphed it from a thick stew into a more soupy afterlife.
Served together on a brisk Spring night, they were just as good a simple quick meal as I can imagine. And of course i made 4x what I needed so I get to have it again for lunch today. Lentils for the Win/Win! again.
And last night I did so. Spring is threatening to hatch with warming days and cherry and plum buds bursting all over Canyon but the nights are still chilly, so i felt like a rich stew/soup thing. It was a natural to spring for the Red lentils and go full metal Africa on them.
I started out with a mirepoix and nice crush of garlic; a good place to start, adding a slug of cumin, turmeric, cardamon and cracked black pepper at first, and then some Spanish paprika (that is my spirit animal) a small dash of cayenne and a large dash of curry powder and more black pepper near the end of the sauté.
When the aroma smelled like Heaven and the mirepoix was approaching a golden sheen, I stirred in a cup of red lentils, a quart of home made chicken stock and an additional 2 cups of water for volume.
Covered it and brought it to a boil, then uncovered slightly and reduced the heat to med/low, leaning toward low so it just bubbled a bit in slow slurry of simmer. I pretty much just left it alone for 30 mins in this state, tasting once about 15 mins into its life cycle and gave it a bit more cayenne and black pepper - then turned my attention to a slab of salmon on the workbench.
There are a zillion ways to do salmon but I prefer simplicity. It's such a great, rich fish that it needs not too much more than a dusting of aromatics and spice and a proper quick grill/bake.
This was a good cut, Atlantic Salmon wild caught and I simply chopped some fresh dill, dusted it wth black pepper and garlic powder and drizzled some of my best olive oil (Persian lime infused) over it and just before enclosing in in foil to bake/steam it, squeezed half a lime from my garden over it.
Then into the 450 degree oven it went for 12-15 mins till it was steamed to a flaky perfection (took two peeks to get it just so).
The lentils after slow simmering for 30 minutes were like Ulysses' sirens calling to me and I turned off the heat, squeezed a lime into it and stirred in some chopped cilantro. Then pulled out an immersion blender and morphed it from a thick stew into a more soupy afterlife.
Served together on a brisk Spring night, they were just as good a simple quick meal as I can imagine. And of course i made 4x what I needed so I get to have it again for lunch today. Lentils for the Win/Win! again.
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