Practical tips for cooking with lentils.
There are so many great varieties of lentils out there; black,
green, yellow, orange, red, beluga, Du Puy...and the list goes on.
I say try them all, but keep in mind that the yellow, orange and
red lentils fall apart easily when cooked. This makes them great
for soups and stews, but if you want to keep their shape, look to
the darker color ones.
Lentils often get shipped in large canvas sacks, so I always
like to give them a good long rinse in cold water.
If I know I'm going to be rockin' lentils in a recipe the next
day, I often let them soak in cold water, in the fridge over night.
This cuts down the cooking time, by about half and allows them to
cook a bit more evenly.
Eat up! - Lentils, are super healthy!
Just remember, lentils, like rice or pastas are a great place to
start but need the help of other big flavours to really kick things
off. I've always loved them with the addition of cured meats; a
good Italian sausage, some pancetta, ham or bacon, and you can
rarely go wrong with chorizo!
Lentils last. They're good in the pantry for 5-6 months; just
make sure to keep them in an air tight container.