On Lentils

The humble lentil is a magnificent addition to anyone's cuisine, as I have proved today by converting two friends to its wholesome discipleship (I'm tipsy, so forgive the loquaciousness).  You should consider it too.  I will explain how this has anything to do with my life, thus:

I spent the morning cleaning, organizing, and started putting things on the wall, but then two married friends from Chicago who have since moved to DC - just two blocks away, oh happy convenience - with whom I had delicious Turkish food last night invited me over to bake challah, a delicious braided bread, so I happily abandoned my labors (most appropriate for Labor Day - laboring, I mean, not abandoning labor; we're unionized now, you know) and went over.  I spent a very pleasant afternoon helping not just in the preparation of challah, but also putting up shelves, assembling a desk, folding laundry, strategizing the hanging of pictures on the wall, and gossiping.  But due to the volume of work and the length of time it takes to make challah (two risings, baking time, and so on), it soon came to be 7 and we hadn't had dinner yet.  For someone born and bred in the Midwest, this is unspeakable heresy (which is why I'm writing it instead), so I suggested that they come over to my place where I would whip them up some lentil soup in under half an hour.  Since they had not yet seen my apartment, this seemed a great idea, and with freshly baked challah to eat with the lentils, a fortuitous one as well.

If you've never made lentils, listen closely, because they are both cheap and healthy, virtues which appeal to me and my friends (students we may no longer be, but student loan payments have a way of making one feel as though one were a student again, complete with the minuscule food budget, even if this is not actually the case).  Not only are they cheap and healthy, but they are also incredibly easy - you can prettify them all you want, but stripped down to the basics, lentil soup in half an hour is a breeze.  You will need:

1 bag of of lentils - generally this means one pound, which is two cups, if you're curious.
8-9 cups of water
About 3 bouillon cubes or their equivalent - your choice of flavor, though I prefer beef and chicken.  Add more cubes if you like your broth richer, but I warn you, bouillon has a lot of salt.
Spices as you desire.

And now the promised blessed simplicity.  Rinse the lentils.  Put them in the water.  Add bouillon and spices.  Boil.  Bring down to simmer until lentils are tender (generally around 20-25 minutes).  Eat them.

It's really that easy.  I cheated this evening because I wanted them fast and added the lentils to boiling water for the first ten minutes (which actually made precious little difference) but it's better to let them simmer so they can take on the spices more easily (also, too much boiling will turn them to mush).  What spices, you ask?  Whatever you want them to taste like, of course.  The classic is onion, garlic, and basil, but tonight I used a mix with garlic, white onion, white pepper, salt, ginger, and hickory which is intended for pork chops but is also magnificent on lentils.  It might be fun to try them with red pepper, or even curry.  You may also add some meat to augment the bouillon, like a bit of bacon, some andouille or chorizo sausage, or whatever you have lying around (some ham is good; so is a left-over bratwurst chopped up).  I suspect they would be phenomenal with lamb - they are, after all, a Mediterranean staple.

So why not try adding lentils to your diet?  I can get a pound of them for ninety-five cents at the Safeway up the street, and with some interesting spices, good bread, and a bottle of red wine, you're set for a delicious, healthy, and cheap dinner (and a pound serves between four and six people).  Now don't say I never taught you anything!