1cOR2: Trust Me

Trust. The cornerstone of any great relationship

Trust me. I have never been a big fan of lentils. To me they were always just something I was supposed to like because they are good for me.

Okay, I will eat these ribs but only because you say these are good for me!

One my friend Diana Boven who lives in Charlottesville came to Richmond for a visit. She greeted me at my front door with a gift bag. In the bag was a jar of french lentils and a recipe.

"Trust me. You'll gonna love this recipe", she said.

Diana is an excellent cook, but I there I was staring down at a jar of lentils for goodness sake. I simply smiled politely and said "Thank you. I will be sure to give these a try."

Mmmm! How yummy do these look???

After our visit was over, I put the recipe in my recipe box and the jar of lentils in cupboard.

To be honest she gave me that jar of lentils over two years ago. Each time I opened my cupboard, I would look at them and think, "I really do need to give them a try. But some other time, hmm?"

Last month, I decided it was time to start a weight loss program but felt like I needed support to get started. I visited a well respected weight loss clinic here in Richmond to see if they could help me. Though I decided not to enroll in their program, I was invited to come listen to their first lecture anyway.

Bile Beans?

The lecture talked about which foods were good for us to eat and which foods we should try to avoid. During the talk, the speaker kept talking about how great lentils were for us to eat. Packed with protein and fiber, lentils were something she recommended we make part of our lifestyle. I was not thrilled by this, but I thought maybe I should rethink trying those lentils that were taking up space in my cupboard.

Later that day while I was working out on the elliptical machine at my gym, I came across a Good Housekeeping article that featured Oprah's friend Dr. Oz's One Day Diet Recipes (April 2011). One of the recipes featured was a Warm French Lentil Salad. I figured it had to be good if Dr Oz suggested it in Good Housekeeping. After all, if you can't trust Dr. Oz and Good Housekeeping, my God who can you trust?? I mean other than me of course.

I knew a sign when I saw one.

It was time for me to try lentils. But which recipe do I try? I decided to try both recipes and both were fantastic. Trust me. Would I lie to you?

The first recipe I tried was my friend Diana Boven's recipe. Diana's recipe suggested making the salad with sausage. I decided to serve mine with salmon instead, but I will present her recipe as it was presented to me.

Warm Lentil Salad served with Salmon

Diana Boven's Warm Lentil Salad with Sausage

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 Cups of French Green Lentils (picked over and rinsed)

6 Cups of Water

2 California Bay Leaves

1 Teaspoon Salt ( I prefer to use Sea Salt)

2 Small Onions, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

2 Carrots diced into 1/4 inch cubes (about 1 cup)

2 Celery Stalks diced into 1/4 inch cubes (about 1 cup)

1 Teaspoon of finely chopped Garlic

1/2 Teaspoon dried Thyme crumbled

1/4 Teaspoon cracked Black Pepper

1/2 Cup plus 1 Teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 Cup of Red Wine Vinegar

1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

1 Pound Smoked Kielbasa Sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices

1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Flat Leafed Parsley

Directions:

Bring lentils, water and bay leaves to a boil in heavy saucepan, reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer about 15 minutes or until almost tender. Stir in a pinch of salt, and simmer 3 to 5 minutes longer.

While lentils simmer, saute the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, a pinch of pepper and salt in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over low heat. Cook until just the vegetables have softened or about 7 to 9 minutes.

Make the vinaigrette by whisking together the red wine vinegar, mustard and the remaining salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk in the 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil in a slow stream until blended.

Drain the cooked lentils in a colander. Discard the bay leaves. Return the lentils to the saucepan. Add in the vegetables and the vinaigrette. Cook over very low heat, stirring until heated through.

If using Kielbasa, brown the slices thoroughly in a separate saute pan. Using a slotted spoon, place the cooked sausage in with the lentils. Add in the parsley and serve.

As I mentioned earlier, I chose to serve my lentils with roasted Salmon. I simply mixed the parsley into the lentils and vegetables after the vinaigrette was added. Once my salmon was plated, I surrounded the fish with the lentil salad. This has now become a favorite dish of mine. Honest.

I then decided to give Dr Oz's dish a try. Though both dishes are similar, the flavors are still different.

Dr Oz's Warm French Lentil Salad

(as shared in the April 2011 issue of Good Housekeeping)

Ingredients:

7 Ounces French Green (de Puy) Lentils (or 1 Cup) picked over and rinsed

3 Sprigs fresh Oregano plus an additional 1/4 teaspoon of chopped leaves

1 Medium Onion

3 Large Stalks of Celery

2 Large Red, Yellow or Orange Peppers

1 Tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

1 Tablespoon of fresh Dill (plus additional for garnish)

6 Ounces of Baby Spinach

2 Ounces of Feta Cheese Crumbles (about 1/2 Cup)

Directions:

In a 4 quart saucepan, combine lentils, oregano sprigs and 3 cups of water. Bring to boil and then reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, chop onion, celery and peppers. Using a 12-inch saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add in the onion and celery and saute for 7 to 8 minutes. Next add in the peppers, 2 tablespoons of water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Saute for 5 minutes or until the peppers are tender but crisp.

Drain the lentils as soon as they are tender and discard the sprigs. Transfer the lentils into a bowl. Stir in the vinegar, dill, oregano, onion mixture, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper and the remaining olive oil.

Divide the fresh spinach leaves among 4 serving plates. Spoon the warm lentil salad over the spinach. Top each serving with some crumbled feta and garnish with the additional fresh dill.

When I made this dish, I chose to serve it without of the spinach leaves. I also chose to use diced low fat Feta cheese instead of the Feta Cheese crumbles (I used about 1/2 block of low fat feta cheese) and mixed that directly into the bowl of lentils.

Once again I found myself loving a lentils dish. This dish is not only great served warm, it is also terrific eaten cold. Best of all, it keeps well for several days the refrigerator.