Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cubed lean ham
- 1 1/2 cups French lentils
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Preparation
- Place the ham in a soup pot
- Add 10 cups water and remaining ingredients.
- Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to and simmer 1 hour, or until lentils are tender and broth is rich.
Nutritional Information
ABOUT FRENCH GREEN LENTILSFrench Green Lentils (also known as lentilles du Puy) are prized above other lentils for their strong peppery flavour and their firmness, even after cooking. Lentils are a small but nutritionally mighty member of the legume family and are a very good source of cholesterol lowering fibre.
Not only do lentils help lower cholesterol, they are of special benefit in managing blood-sugar disorders since their high fibre content prevents blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal. But this is far from all lentils have to offer.
Lentils also provide good to excellent amounts of six important minerals including two B-vitamins and protein, all with virtually no fat. The calorie cost of all this nutrition is just 230 calories for a whole cup of cooked lentils.
Lentils are one of the best vegetable sources of iron. This makes them an important part of a vegetarian diet, and useful for preventing iron deficiency. Iron is particularly important for adolescents and pregnant women, whose requirements for it are increased.
Cooking French Green LentilsThere is no special technique to cooking les lentilles du Puy. They cook in the same fashion as other lentils and can substitute for these in your favourite recipes. The basic cooking technique is:
Rinse the lentils with cold water and remove any gravel that may have sneaked its way in.
Place them in a sturdy pot and cover with 6 times as much water.
Bring the pot to a boil and then simmer until done, about 15 to 20 minutes.