| cheap red wine lentils |
About a month ago, I was invited to a potluck lunch with some midwives. I love spending time with amazing women and I had a hunch that midwives would know how to COOK, so I went. I was not disappointed. This is, most definitely, the best lentil recipe I have ever tried (and, believe you me, I have tried many). I want to carry it in my pocket to hand out to people when they ask me what to cook with lentils. Which actually happens pretty often. Last week I was buying lentils at the store and the cashier said, "What do these taste like? I see people buying them all the time." I replied, "Um....they kind of taste like beans. They kind of take on the taste of whatever you cook them in. I don't recommend eating them plain because they also taste like dirt."
I am seriously thinking about printing this recipe and taking it to her so she can go to lentil heaven. And I hate using my printer. This recipe is that good.
CHEAP RED WINE LENTILS
(Original recipe from Deborah Madison's The Savory Way but it has been altered a bit)
You can use regular old lentils, no problem, but those little French green ones make the best version. Here's the straight recipe (which you should double if you want to feed more than 3 people), plus my comments:
1 cup lentils: soak in hot water while you get started.
Melt together in a large pot 1T each butter and olive oil, and in them fry up a finely diced small onion, 2 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, and a pinch each of thyme and marjoram. Add a handful of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, and stir in a spoonful (t or T) of tomato paste. Here comes the fun part: pour in 2 cups of cheap, fruity red wine (this is the perfect use for boxed wine; I used Franzia's sangria wine for the ones you had) and bring it to a boil. Let it boil off the alcohol for a full minute, dump in the soaked lentils, plus some salt, return to a boil and then turn it down and let them slow cook. Depending on how much water they soaked up, you may need to add more liquid. It can be water or broth; the batch you tasted had a fair amount homemade turkey stock in it, and I do think that enriches the dish.
Expect to cook them 40-60 minutes. Check for saltiness and correct that, then before serving give them a dash of red wine vinegar to spike everything up, a bunch of black pepper, and if you are so inclined, another T or 2 of melted butter or really good olive oil. Throw another handful ofparsley in/on, and that's it.
The friend I got it from told me it goes great with fine toast. I went out on a limb and make some buttermilk biscuits to go with it. Don't have a favorite buttermilk biscuits recipe? I gotcha covered. This recipe is from a friend of mine who is from Alabama, so you know you're in good hands.
JUDGE ADLER'S BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
2 1/4 cups flour
I am seriously thinking about printing this recipe and taking it to her so she can go to lentil heaven. And I hate using my printer. This recipe is that good.
CHEAP RED WINE LENTILS
(Original recipe from Deborah Madison's The Savory Way but it has been altered a bit)
You can use regular old lentils, no problem, but those little French green ones make the best version. Here's the straight recipe (which you should double if you want to feed more than 3 people), plus my comments:
1 cup lentils: soak in hot water while you get started.
Melt together in a large pot 1T each butter and olive oil, and in them fry up a finely diced small onion, 2 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, and a pinch each of thyme and marjoram. Add a handful of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, and stir in a spoonful (t or T) of tomato paste. Here comes the fun part: pour in 2 cups of cheap, fruity red wine (this is the perfect use for boxed wine; I used Franzia's sangria wine for the ones you had) and bring it to a boil. Let it boil off the alcohol for a full minute, dump in the soaked lentils, plus some salt, return to a boil and then turn it down and let them slow cook. Depending on how much water they soaked up, you may need to add more liquid. It can be water or broth; the batch you tasted had a fair amount homemade turkey stock in it, and I do think that enriches the dish.
Expect to cook them 40-60 minutes. Check for saltiness and correct that, then before serving give them a dash of red wine vinegar to spike everything up, a bunch of black pepper, and if you are so inclined, another T or 2 of melted butter or really good olive oil. Throw another handful ofparsley in/on, and that's it.
The friend I got it from told me it goes great with fine toast. I went out on a limb and make some buttermilk biscuits to go with it. Don't have a favorite buttermilk biscuits recipe? I gotcha covered. This recipe is from a friend of mine who is from Alabama, so you know you're in good hands.
JUDGE ADLER'S BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
2 1/4 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1/3 cup shortening or butter
1 c buttermilk (you can put 1 T of lemon juice in a measuring cup and then fill to 1 cup. Let stand 5 minutes to curdle)
Melted butter for the tops
1) Heat oven to 450.
2) Mix dry ingredients and cut in the fat.
3) Add the buttermilk slowly, stirring as you go. The mixture should pull away from the sides and form a very wet dough.
4) Roll out on a floured surface. I don't even use a rolling pin...just kind of smoosh it down. You want it to be thick - about 3/4-1 inch thick.
5) Cut into 3 inch rounds (I use a juice glass).
6) Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Brush tops with butter and bake a few more minutes, until golden brown.
Yield: 7-9 biscuits
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1/3 cup shortening or butter
1 c buttermilk (you can put 1 T of lemon juice in a measuring cup and then fill to 1 cup. Let stand 5 minutes to curdle)
Melted butter for the tops
1) Heat oven to 450.
2) Mix dry ingredients and cut in the fat.
3) Add the buttermilk slowly, stirring as you go. The mixture should pull away from the sides and form a very wet dough.
4) Roll out on a floured surface. I don't even use a rolling pin...just kind of smoosh it down. You want it to be thick - about 3/4-1 inch thick.
5) Cut into 3 inch rounds (I use a juice glass).
6) Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Brush tops with butter and bake a few more minutes, until golden brown.
Yield: 7-9 biscuits
TIPS:
- I like to shape my dough into a big rectangle, then fold in half and turn, then smoosh into another rectangle, fold in half and turn....I do this 3-4 times to make good layers.
- I cut my biscuits into squares because it’s easier
- place them near each other but not touching and they’ll snuggle up and get tall together
- if you have plain yogurt on hand, you can bloop some of that in as a sub for buttermilk....so I put 1-2 T in the bottom of a cup measure, then bloop in a big spoonful of yogurt, then fill up with milk to 1 cup
Shortcake Variation!
You can also use this biscuit recipe to make shortbread by just increasing the sugar to about 1/3-1/2 cup. You can also crumble some sugar on top at the end when you brush on the butter.
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