Hi hello! How are they? Looking for innovative and different recipes? Well welcome to Paulina Kitchen! There is no better place. Today with a very interesting topic that challenges me: recipes with lentils. The one who was not waiting for an article about this, to throw the first stone.
Applause? We are happy to enter an ingredient as important as the lentil and I anticipate that we will talk about many dishes (which are not stew), interesting combinations and data that were not expected.
Some hate them and others, like us, love them and manage to see in them an infinity of possible very interesting dishes.
And it is the grandmother of the legumes, some say that by the year 2,200 AC in Egypt, lentil was already used as a crop, also in its dishes and preparations. In Argentina since 1934. Buenos Aires and Santa Fe are the provinces that lead this area and cover 95% of the surface of the lentil cultivation.
What is my point in all this? It is one of the best options when preparing nutritional dishes since time immemorial. Despite their high caloric contribution, they are highly recommended in the sliding diets by the satiating power of their fiber, also because it helps eliminate liquids and favors intestinal transit.
There are studies that show that a diet rich in legumes not only reduces the risk of heart attack and angina by 14%, but also helps improve the general health status.
Important data: Did you know that lentils are good for the planet? These have the ability to grow in very diverse climates and favor soil regeneration.
Now they became your best option too, I know.
Surely they will have seen in dietary a variety of colors and sizes of lentils and always go and buy to the safe one, I tell you a little the differences between each one so that the next one tested with some other variety.
Castellana blonde: is one of the most common. It stands out for its flat silhouette, a yellowish color and a size larger than the rest. Its flavor is delicate and a consistent texture. They are going very well for sauteed, stews, stews, and combined with rice or vegetables.
Beluga: This differs by its tiny black size, which goes out during cooking. This is the variety that has the most proteins. Their cooking should not exceed twenty minutes. It is ideal for salads, although in a stew with sausages it is spectacular.
Red: This has a soft and delicate flavor, widely used in Asian cuisine. It has an interesting red or orange hue that is reduced a bit in cooking. They come peeled, this makes them more digestive. Its texture is very tender and be undone during cooking, so it is used a lot for creams, purés, pate and even stuffed.
PARDINA: This variety has a global appearance and brown color. It has a thin skin that does not detach during cooking and a creamy and tender texture. Its cooking has to be at least 45 minutes. If we exceed over time, it will become more flour and less digestible.
Puy: or French lentil. Its color is green and throwing yellow. It has a lower proportion of starch, which makes it smoother, with a delicate and subtle taste. You need slow cooking, between 25 or 30 minutes. It works very well in purés, creams, salads and stews.
Soak the lentils a few hours before or all night. This as the first recommendation, since in this way gases and inflammation are reduced, this process will facilitate its digestion. In addition, this will soften them and need a shorter cooking time.
Salt must be thrown at the end of cooking. When cooking lentils it is important to take this into account, since its peel absorbs salt and tends to harden, so we will put the salt at the end avoiding this tightening.
Control the ration per person . We have to calculate about 50 to 80 grams per person, since by cooking them they multiply their weight twice.
Calculate the amount of water in cooking. It is advisable to use 500 grams of lentils by 2-3 liters of water. We place a minimum of 4 times more water, if we put less risk that it evaporates and burn the lentils.
