There are times in our lives when we just need to be nurtured.  Not only was today a Monday, but it was also the first day of the year that had that real winter chill in the air.  With many people at work out sick, I thought I better prepare a meal that would warm my chill and fortify my body.  Aside from being outrageously affordable, lentils are packed with protein, iron, and fiber, but extremely low in fat, making them a nutritional powerhouse – great for nurturing!

I bought red lentils simply because, I have to admit, I couldn’t resist their beautiful salmon color.  I know that shopping for food by color is a bit superficial, but it turned out to be a good decision.  Red and pink lentils are actually already skinned, and therefore cook a lot more quickly than regular brown lentils.  If you have a bit more time on your hands, try the green French lentils, which add a delicious peppery flavor, but take quite a bit longer to cook.

I used to avoid cooking lentils because I thought that you had to soak them overnight and cook them for hours.  Fortunately, my good friend Amanda showed me a quick and easy method for preparing lentils that was absolutely delicious.  Including the prep, the whole dish, from start to finish, only took about 35 minutes.  Not bad for huge pot of nutritious food with slow-cooked flavor!

What I love about this preparation of lentils is that even though you know you are eating “health food”, the smoky flavor of the sausage and the creaminess of the Parmesan cheese help the dish feel rich and luxurious.  I decided to add kale because it is in season and adds another level of iron and vitamins that I was craving to keep my immune system strong.  Any leafy green would work, but kale and collard greens will hold their texture the best in this preparation.

The final touch on this dish is to top the lentils with a poached egg.  You can choose to eliminate this step if you wish, but the flavor of the yolk and the texture of the egg really make this dish a knockout.

As a final hoorah! for this dish, I have to mention that it costs about $15 to make and dishes out four large servings.  Can’t beat that for a healthy, delicious meal, can you?  I’d say this meal is worth squeezing in to your monthly meal rotation!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of red lentils, rinsed and cleared of any debris
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 package kielbasa (use turkey kielbasa for reduced fat), cut into bite size pieced
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4-5 large kale leaves, washed and chopped into bite size pieces
• 5 sprigs of thyme, removed from its stem
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
• Crushed red pepper to taste
• Salt

In a large, heavy bottom pot or dutch oven, melt the butter in the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the carrots, onions, garlic, and thyme.  Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, which should take about five minutes.  Add the kielbasa and let it brown up for three minutes or so.

Add the lentils to the pot and stir until the lentils are coated with the butter and olive oil.  Add the wine to the pot and let it cook off until the lentils have absorbed most of the liquid.  Add all four cups of the chicken stock to the pot.

Once all of the liquid is in the pot, add the crushed red pepper and the chopped kale.  Stir the kale into the liquid.  Continue to stir the contents of the pot every few minutes to help the kale and lentils cook through evenly until most of the liquid is absorbed, which should take about 20 to 25 minutes.

While the lentils are cooking, it is time to poach your eggs.  Click here for instructions on how to poach an egg.

When most of the liquid has absorbed, and your lentils have reached the consistency of a thick stew, they are done!  Stir in the Parmesan cheese, and taste to see if you need to add any additional salt.  Serve your lentils in a shallow bowl and top with a poached egg.  Serve immediately!

Some of my other favorite pea interpretations are the wasabi pea and when they’re in my fried rice.  Both of those are Asian interpretations, so I’ve set out to try a western European approach.  This recipe was adapted from Jamie Oliver, who’s cooking I really enjoy. For me, one of the best and most welcoming signs of the growing season is when the peas come to the farmer’s market. It’s then that I know the tomatoes aren’t far away and summer is just about upon us in New England.

This recipe is simple to make and will impress any guest as an appetizer or a side to a main event – probably because it’s fairly elegant once it’s topped with the mozzarella and balsamic.  It’s a classic British/Italian fusion dish that are oh so common.  Here’s how it went:

• Around 1 lb of peas (weighed in their shells) – this should be about 50 pods give or take…
• 1 small handful of fresh basil – finely chopped
• 5-6 medium leaves of fresh oregano – finely chopped
• Around 12 mint leaves – finely chopped
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• Zest from 1/4-1/3 a lemon
• Around 1/3 cup of Parmesan – Finely grated (use a Microplane if you have one)
• 1-2 medium balls of fresh mozzarella
• 1 medium sourdough baguette
• 2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar – Aged (the good stuff) if you have it (get it here)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Start by shelling the peas into a medium bowl.  Once you have them all removed from their pods, start mashing them up either in a mortar and pestle or in a food processor (I did a combination of the two).  Once you have all of the peas good and mashed up, add in the herbs (or combine them in the food processor (**Side note: if you’re using a food processor to do this, make sure you try to minimize the amount of cycles you give it!  The coarser the pea mixture, the better).

Add in the olive oil next and mix it together.  Your mixture should be somewhere around the consistency of a coarse paste.  If it needs some more moisture, add in a bit more oil.  Next add in the lemon juice and Parmesan cheese – this will really tie the mixture together.  Stir it all together and you’re ready to go.

To make a dish out of it, I sliced up my sour baguette on the diagonal and toasted it in my toaster – giving it a little color but still leaving it soft in the center.  Once the toasts are ready, take a clove of raw garlic and rub it a few times over the surface of the toasted bread.  I then took the pea mixture and spread it over the bread (the side that I rubbed with the garlic).  Then take a thin piece of Mozzarella and place it over the top, add a little salt and drizzle some of the balsamic vinegar over all of them at the end to really tie things up nice.  Serve as an app and any dinner or party and you’ll make quick friends!  Enjoy -