Spiced Lentils with Mushrooms and Greens
Recipe from Food and Wine Magazine (Feb 11) and tweaked by your examiner
Total: 40 min
1/2 cup brown or green lentils
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced 1/4 inch thick
salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/2 pound Swiss chard or other tender greens, large stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1. In a small saucepan, cover the lentils with 2 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and add the shiitake mushrooms and season with salt. Cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring until the mushrooms are tender and starting to brown. This should take about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil with the cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander, pepper, 1 tbsp of the parsley and turmeric and cook, stirring until fragrant--about 1 minute. Add the greens and cook, stirring until wilted--about 2 minutes.
3. Add the lentils and their cooking liquid to the mushrooms and simmer for 3 minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup of water if the lentils are too dry. Season with salt. Ladle the lentils into bowns, garnish with the remaining parsley and serve.
This is a nice, lightly spiced dish that is well suited to a spicy red wine. I recommend Frey Vineyards 2007 Biodynamic® Petite Sirah Redwood Valley, Estate Bottled. Fermented with wild yeast and aged in French Oak barrels, this tasty Petite has a lush bouquet of butterscotch and caramel, as well as complex layers of black cherry, blueberry, fig and coffee. It is very elegant and powerful...perfectly suited to this light and spicy lentil dish.
Enjoy!
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