SC - lentils! lentils!

[Stefan li Rous]

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa asked:
> 1) Tell me all about Lentils! How common were they outside the Muslim regions? What other
> good recipes exist? Are there any Lentil addict support groups?

Well, there is a little in this file in the FOOD-VEGETABLES section of
the Florilegium:
vegetables-msg   (102K) 12/27/00    Period vegetables. Recipes.

And I pasted one recipe below.

- -- 
THLord  Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas         stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****

> Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 18:40:44 -0500
> From: dangilsp at intrepid.net (Dan Gillespie)
> Subject: SC - re: Lentils
> 
> Hello from West Virginia!
>         Here's a recipe for a lentil dish from the 1607 "Arte de Cozina"
> that I'm working with.  I thought it was nicely spiced, but the other person
> who tried it thought it a bit bland.  You can always adjust the seasonings
> at the end.  Let me know how you like it.
>                                         Antoine de Bayonne
> 
> Cap xiiij De caldo de lentejas.
> 
> Despues de limpias y escogidas las lentejas se echaran a cozer, y despues
> que cuezen un poco, se freyra una poca de cebolla, y ajos picados, y se
> echara en las lentejas; y toma pan rallado, y echaselo para que espessen con
> quatro, o seys maravedis de especias molidas, perexil è yerba buena; y
> quando se vuieren de echar en las escudillas, se les echara un poco de
> vinagre: es buen caldo, sino que es melancolico, como dize Galeno, cap. 5.
> 
> Chap 14 On a broth of lentils
> 
> After the lentils are cleaned & sorted, cast them to cook, & after they cook
> a little, fry a little onion, chopped garlic, & cast them to the lentils; &
> take grated bread, & cast it so that they thicken with 4 or 6 maravedis of
> ground spices, parsley & mint; & when you cast it in the bowls, cast a
> little vinegar: it is a good broth, except that is melancholic, as Galen
> says in chapter 5.
> 
> A Dish of Lentils
> 
> - -2 C lentils, sorted & rinsed
> - -2 med onions, chopped
> - -2 Tbsp olive oil
> - -4 cloves garlic, minced
> - -1/2 tsp pepper
> - -1/4 tsp ginger
> - -1/2 tsp cumin
> - -1/2 tsp coriander
> - -pinch of cloves
> - -salt to taste
> - -1/4 C bread crumbs
> - -1 Tbsp mint, finely minced
> - -2 Tbsp parsley, finely minced
> - -2 Tbsp red vine vinegar
> 
> Cover lentils with 2 inches of water & cook til they are soft; the time
> depends on which type of lentils you use.  Turn heat to low.  Saute onions
> in oil til soft & clear; add garlic & continue to saute til garlic is
> slightly browned.  Add this mixture to lentils.  Add the spices & herbs &
> sitr in the bread crumbs.  This made a stew thinner thatn porridge & thicker
> than soup.  Remove from heat & stir in vinegar.  Serve warm
> 
> Dan Gillespie
> dangilsp at intrepid.net
> Dan_Gillespie at usgs.gov
> Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA