New Year's Legumes

[lagatta]

In several cultures, a legume-based dish is eaten on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day as an augur of good luck and prosperity for the year. In the US South and many Caribbean Islands, a dish of black-eyed peas (Hopping John in the South) is the lucky food - recipes?

In Italy, the lucky food is lentils. Here is a recipe that can easily be made vegetarian by using veg stock instead of the chicken stock. Though many variations do include some pork or other meats:

Lenticchie di Capodanno

New Year's Lentils

In Italy, lentils are standard offerings on New Year’s tables as a symbol of luck and prosperity (their round shape is thought to be reminiscent of coins) as well as the building block for a number of delicious winter soups. The soup below features tiny lentils from the town of Castelluccio in Umbria: their thin, delicate skin and sweet, nutty flavor (not to mention propensity for cooking up firm) makes them one of Italy's most prized legumes. Even though they are favored in Italy on New Year's tables, you can enjoy these succulent lentils year-round.

(Castelluccio lentils are similar to Lentilles du Puy)


2 cups Castelluccio lentils
10 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, minced
1 carrot, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1 tablespoon minced thyme
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 large slices country bread
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Rinse the lentils, pick them over, and place in a 2 quart pot with the broth. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat 30 minutes, or until almost tender.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 3-quart pot and add the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, and thyme. Cook 10 minutes over medium-high heat, then add the tomato paste.

Pour in the lentils and their broth, bring to a boil, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked, adding a little more broth if needed to thin out the soup. Season with the salt.

Meanwhile, heat a grill pan over high heat for 5 minutes and toast the bread until lightly browned on both sides, turning once, about 2 minutes per side. Rub the bread lightly with the garlic.

Distribute the bread among eight bowls. Pour the soup over the bread and serve hot, drizzled with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkled with the pepper, passing the Pecorino at the table. Serves 8

[Deleted]

Well, I certainly wouldn't eat lentils just once a year! I have always wondered why lentils are not part of 'standard' North American fare, since there is a general appreciation of beans on the continent: navy beans, black-eyed peas, lima beans, kidney beans, etc... Maybe lentils are just not big enough? (I know that many of the various ethnic groups eat lentils -- perhaps that makes it food for foreigners.)

[lagatta]

People certainly eat lentils here a lot, but that must be the French, Italian, Lebanese etc influences.

I think most of the beans you mention as eaten in North America are indeed New World beans, as opposed to the Old world ones such as lentils, chick peas and broad beans. (fava, foul). The exception is the black-eyed pea, a cowpea: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-eyed_pea

I disagree with the "good luck" going back to Sherman's campaign - it is much older, and found throughout the cultural area with a strong African influence from plantation slavery in the Caribbean as well as the US South

[cristina]

Lagatta, I make a very similar lentil soup, although I have never thought to serve it over bread - usually I am a "dipper" - but I may try it this way next time.

I'm not sure how prevalent or not lentils are in US cooking, but I've eaten them in some form or another all my life. And they have never been an obscure item on grocery shelves, no matter what part of the US I've lived in. The only thing is that there is typically only one variety on the shelf. In order to get Castelluccio lentils or Lentilles du Puy, I would most certainly have to order them.

[lagatta]

I never serve it over bread either - I simply copied a recipe that is similar to how I make it "a memoria", with no recipe - I thought the spicing and vegetables were apt. I'd much rather just have a soup or stew, with some good bread to dip in it. Though I see there are no bay leaves, and I always stick in a couple.

We find lentils in all supermarkets here, usually at least the large brown, small brown, red (without hulls, for soups) and domestic Du Puys.

[bixaorellana]

What a great-sounding recipe, LaGatta! I am going to try that as soon as I get home. I can get really teensy lentils, too. I never saw this technique of cooking the lentils first in broth, then finishing them in the sofrito. That would really infuse them with flavor.

[Deleted]

In terms of lentils not being 'standard' American fare -- I was never served or saw lentils a single time in 15 years of school or universitary cafeterias, or saw it in any place like Morrison's, or on the menu at Denny's or Howard Johnson's.

[cristina]

Now I see why there are so many misconceptions about American dining habits. Dennys and Howard Johnson's don't necessarily define the US. And my school cafeterias did at least serve lentil soup on occasion.

[Deleted]

But Denny's and HJ try to be as middle of the road as possible, and there are unfortunately no lentils strewn on that road.

I don't think I was ever served soup in school. They probably couldn't afford the mops in Mississippi.

[traveler63]

I agree with Cristina HJ and Denny's isn't representative of American dining habits. Lentils are very common here and are served in many restaurants. I have never had them over bread. They are very common in soups and there are also found with sausage. I have also eaten them as a base for a pork dish. I have a short rib recipe that uses French lentils as a base. Almost all of my friends have recipes that use lentils.

[cristina]

You never were served soup in school?

Truthfully, at least prior to the 90's, the only way I consistently saw lentils offered (outside of Mediterranean or Indian restaurants) was in the form of soup.

I also made lentil soup a lot when I was in college because I was really poor and lentils were cheap. Fortunately, I still like them.

[Deleted]

[lagatta]

That couldn't have been your school dinner, k2 - can't imagine throwaway styrofoam trays back then.

I don't understand no soup, as it is so cheap to make and a way of using up leftovers and the surplus items schools get in many countries.

[Deleted]

No, they were hard plastic, but the contents were quite similar. No soup maybe because it was the Deep South, maybe because those plastic trays were not designed for soup. They didn't worry too much about nutrition, just hunger. I think that lunch cost 25 cents back then, so you couldn't expect much.

[cristina]

I wondered the same as lagatta... and like her, I think of soup as a really economical food.

Kerouac, I think you and I are about the same age so our experiences, on the timeline, anyway, should be similar. However since I mostly grew up in the Washington, DC area, perhaps the cost of living was higher. I remember a full lunch costing 40 cents in elementary school (if you brought your lunch and only needed to buy milk, a half pint was 2 cents). But we got full hot lunches for that 40 cents. Real meat, 2 vegetables, soup, sandwiches - we actually could make some choices, although limited. Jello with whipped cream on top was a fun dessert but there were also pies or crisps and pudding. All of the lunches were made on premise and the only fried item I ever remember seeing was chicken. Also, we had real plates (unbreakable, but no dividers).

School lunches have changed a whole lot since then. And not for the better.

Crap, I sound like my grandmother. Remember the good old days?

And lagatta, I'm sorry for taking your thread so far off topic. I'm off to find a few of my favorite lentil recipes to make up for my transgression...

[fumobici]

Dec 28, 2009 21:52:47 GMT kerouac2 said:

What delightfully kitschy amuses bouches

[lagatta]

Thread drift is inevitable and fun, but we should remember that this is the "recipe" board. Great Dictator Lagatta (with the fake scientific doctorates and credentials of Elena Ceausescu, the shoes of Imelda Marcos and the air-conditioning going full blast so I can wear my fur coats in my Port au Prince mansion, à la Michèle Bennett Pasquet (Mme Bébé Doc Duvalier) wants a NOLA Hoppin' John recipe too, eh?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michèle_Bennett

And yes, soup kitchens - soupes populaires in French.

[fumobici]

I don't think much actual cooking is allowed to be done in school 'kitchens" anymore lest something go wrong, so between that and the need to offend as few as possible one is left with the sorts of things that are served.

[traveler63]

Here is the recipe that I have done with lentils. It is quick and quite delicious!!

Warm Lentil Salad with Sausage


* 2 cups French green lentils (13 oz), picked over and rinsed
* 6 cups water
* 1 California bay leaf or 2 Turkish
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
* 2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)
* 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 3/4 lb smoked kielbasa or other smoked sausage (not low-fat), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
* 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

Bring lentils, water, and bay leaf to a boil in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, then simmer lentils, covered, until tender but not falling apart, 3 to 5 minutes.

While lentils simmer, cook onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are just softened, 7 to 9 minutes.

Make vinaigrette by whisking together vinegar, mustard, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Add remaining 1/2 cup oil in a slow stream, whisking until blended well.

Drain lentils in a colander, discarding bay leaf, and return to saucepan along with vegetable mixture and vinaigrette. Cook over low heat, stirring, until heated through. Keep warm, covered.

Brown kielbasa in cleaned and dried 12-inch heavy skillet (in 2 batches if necessary), turning over once, about 2 minutes per batch. Stir kielbasa and parsley into lentils.

[Deleted]

I took an informal poll at the office, and the results were just about what I expected:

MJ - I don't like lentils except in salad.
JG - I love lentlils but nobody in my family will eat them so I don't make them.
PM - No way. School lunch slop!
MG - Force fed traditional chorba at Ramadan as a child. Mother had to remove the chick peas and lentils from the other ingredients to get her to eat it. Avoids lentils now but will eat them if there is no alternative.
DV - Not a favorite but not avoided either.
HA - big fan of petit salé aux lentilles but doesn't know of other ways to eat them.

[Deleted]

I was never exposed to lentils as they were not something that would enter into the culinary realm my Polish roots cultivated so to speak.
I do however, remember with vivid recall my first encounter with and it was many years before I ate willingly again.
I was with two high school friends,summer of 1969 and hitchiked from NY to Alburquerque ,New Mexico to go up to the San Dias Mountains and stay with some other friends in a geodesic dome. Had great fun with one hitch,the only real substantial food available was lentils. Lentils prepared in the most bland fashion imaginable,no seasoning to speak of,just pain mush.Dreadful.
Very much love now. It was a very popular "hippie" food but most of the hippies I hung with didn't know much about cooking/cuisine per say. Other more important matters at hand.

[Deleted]

This is the principal way that lentils are eaten in France (including the abominable school lunch version):


Petit salé aux lentilles

INGREDIENTS
for 4 persons

- 1 ham hock
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 5 cl olive oil
- 2 cloves
- salt
- 400g lentils
- 1 sprig of thyme and 2 bay leaves
- 6 sprigs of flat parsley

PREPARATION

- Put the ham in a saucepan and cover with water. Salt. Bring to a boil to a simmer and cook for 1 hour 30.
- In a pan, sauté onion and slice the carrots into chunks with olive oil.
- Add cooked ham and sauté for ten minutes.
- Add lentils.
- Add the liquid from cooking the ham.
- Add garlic and herbs.
- Bake 40 minutes covered.
- Add the parsley and serve immediately.

[Deleted]

Although petit salé is a popular brasserie dish in the winter, I would suspect that at last half of the population has only ever seen or eaten it in this form:



While city people eat out all time, most of France -- believe it or not -- never sets foot in a restaurant, and this is probably not what they would order if they did. However, those cans are thrown in a pot and put on the stove all the time, just like cassoulet, ravioli and all of those other things that people who never cook eat.

[lagatta]

Actually French tinned dishes are surpisingly good - not to mention the jarred, more upmarket ones.

Still seeking Hoppin' John RECIPE. Thanks for the petit salé recipe.

[bixaorellana]

LaGatta, I have seen many hoppin john recipes that call for cooking the rice and beans together. That was not the way it was served in my family, and is probably a regional variation.
Very plain, out-of-the-can blackeyed peas, heated and served over plain white rice with minced chile, chopped onion, parsley or cilantro and a squeeze of lime added at the table is a really tasty super low-fat meal that delivers a good fiber, protein, & vitamin punch.
The "recipe" for blackeyed peas that I use is pretty straightforward -- chopped onions & celery, plus minced garlic & maybe a little bell pepper sauteed in oil or bacon grease. Add beans to that along with a ham bone, hock, or pickle meat and boiling water -- make it soupy! Serve over white rice. Use a bay leaf &/or a little thyme to season the beans while they're cooking.

amended to add this recipe for Greek Blackeyed Peas Salad I forgot to put in above. It sounds great.

[bixaorellana]

I just found this article. Check out the two recipes, too.

[auntieannie]

It is only with my Italian ex that I learnt of the tradition of eating good luck lentils on New Year's Eve.

As for lentils, my parents had been fed lentil dishes that were really dry and unpleasant when they were young - they professed to not liking lentils until I cooked Indian style lentils for them.