Recipes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup French green lentils
• 6 cups peeled seeded butternut pumpkin cut into 2cm cubes
• 3 to 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups baby rocket
• 300gm soft goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 190C.
• Toss the pumpkin with 2 tablespoons oil, the cumin, paprika, and salt until all the cubes are well-coated in the marinade. Arrange then in single layer on a baking dish and roast for 20 minutes. Turn each piece so that all the sides get the chance to turn nice and crispy, and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes until tender. Leave to cool.
• While the pumpkin is in the oven, prepare the lentils. Soak them in cold water for about 10 minutes, then drain and boil them in salted water for about 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again.
• To assemble the salad, combine the lentils, pumpkin cubes, and oil from the baking dish with rocket, half of goat cheese, mint, vinegar, and enough oil to just coat each ingredient. Divide among plates and sprinkle the remaining goat cheese over.

Nutritional Information

ABOUT FRENCH GREEN LENTILS

French 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 Lentils

There 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.