Seasonal pantry: Stock your pantry with lentils

It has never been easier to maintain a well-stocked pantry. As I walk the aisles of several local markets, I see ingredients that I once had to drive throughout the Bay Area to find.

Recently, I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of lentils available at a nearby store. There were the brown and green lentils one expects to find in any supermarket. In addition, there were red lentils, the ones that had me driving to Berkeley and San Francisco in the 1970s when I returned home from India with a craving for the dal I had there.

There were yellow lentils, too, and black lentils, plus little French lentils and tiny golden lentils, which are my current favorite.

If you think you don't like lentils, you might give them another try.

Lentil loaf, lentil-broccoli casserole and a number of other dishes that I recall from college potlucks still make me shudder when I think of them but, honestly, lentils are delicious - and, of course, nutritious - when prepared well.

And if you keep your pantry stocked with a good selection, you can make a great meal without having to go to the store.

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I could easily call this “Pantry Soup,” as I was able to make it quickly with ingredients I always have on hand.

It is bone-warming and robust, but not overly filling.

I enjoy it as much for breakfast as I do for dinner or lunch. You can use any type of lentil, but I prefer golden lentils, which are actually almost white.

They have a very delicate flavor that merges beautifully with the other ingredients.

Golden Lentil Soup

Serves 3 to 4

½ cup golden lentils

2 tablespoons butter, clarified butter or olive oil

1 onion, cut into small dice

3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

- Kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ to 1 teaspoon green chile powder (see Note below)

1 tablespoon harissa, commercial or homemade

¼ cup bulgur wheat

¼ cup white rice

3 cups homemade chicken stock or vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

- Black pepper in a mill

1 small bunch cilantro, large stems removed, chopped

- Bottled hot sauce, Hawaiian chili water or plain whole milk yogurt

Put the lentils in a medium saucepan, cover with water by 2 inches and set aside for several hours or overnight.

Drain the lentils and leave them in the strainer or colander.

Set the saucepan over medium heat, add the butter or olive oil and, when it is melted, sauté the onions until they are soft and fragrant, about 15 minutes.

Add the garlic and sauté 2 minutes more. Season with salt and add the cardamom and chile powder.

Add the drained lentils, bulgur wheat and rice, pour in the stock and 1 cup of water and slip in the bay leaf.

Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the lentils and bulgur wheat are tender, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Remove from the heat, let cool for about 10 minutes, remove and discard the bay leaf and use a immersion blender to purée up to half of the soup.

Season with several turns of black pepper, taste and correct for salt and stir in the cilantro.

Enjoy right away, with hot sauce, chili water or yogurt on top.

Note: I use fermented poblano powder that I make myself.

You can use commercial green chili powder, which is common in New Mexico and available through many websites.

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If you lived in Sonoma County in the 1970s, there's a good chance you remember a little French-Algerian restaurant, A Chez Nous, in downtown Cotati. Now and then, the bistro's standard appetizer – Algerian carrots and zucchini – was replaced with anchovies in red wine vinegar and hot French bread. It was unbelievably delicious, and it is my memory of that dish that inspired this warm lentil salad.

Warm Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese, Anchovies & Red Wine Vinaigrette

Serves 4 to 6

1 small tin oil-cured anchovies, drained

3 tablespoon best-quality red wine vinegar

1 ½ cups golden lentils, black lentils or green lentils, soaked in water for 3 hours and drained

- Boiling water

1 garlic bulb, cloves separated, crushed and peeled

- Kosher salt

4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

- Black pepper in a mill

3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

- Sourdough hearth bread, hot

Put the anchovies in a small bowl, use a fork to separate them and pour 2 tablespoons of the vinegar over them. Set aside.

Put the drained lentils and the garlic into a medium saucepan, cover with water by at least an inch, bring to a rolling boil and reduce the heat. Simmer gently, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover, season with salt and continue to cook until the lentils are tender.

Set a strainer over a deep bowl and drain the lentils; reserve the liquid for making soup.

Tip the lentils into a wide shallow serving dish that has been warmed.

Drizzle the remaining vinegar over the lentils and garlic, followed by the olive oil. Season with several turns of black pepper and a bit of salt, add the parsley and feta and toss gently.

Scatter the anchovies and the vinegar over the salad and serve warm, with hot bread alongside.

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For the best results, use specialty mushrooms and not commercial white mushrooms in this dish. If you decide to use commercial white mushrooms, sauté them until they release their water and then simmer long enough for the liquid to evaporate; this will concentrate flavors and improve the texture.

Warm Mushroom and Lentil Salad

Serves 4

¾ cup black lentils, rinsed

- Boiling water

- Kosher salt

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons bacon fat and 1 tablespoon butter

1 large shallot, minced

2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

- Kosher salt

8-10 ounces oyster, maitake, trumpet or similar mushrooms, cleaned and broken into medium pieces

1/2 cup dry white wine

- Black pepper in a mill

2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley

1 tablespoon best-quality red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon pinot noir

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

- Inner leaves of 1 large or 2 small heads of butter lettuce, rinsed and dried

Put the lentils in a heavy saucepan, cover generously with cold water and bring to a full rolling boil.

Drain the lentils, cover with boiling water by 1½ inches, set over high heat and bring to a rolling boil again; lower the heat and simmer gently until the lentils are fully tender, about 45 to 60 minutes or even a little longer.

After the lentils have been cooking for 45 minutes, season somewhat generously with salt. Remove from the heat, cool and drain.

Meanwhile, prepare the mushrooms. Put the butter into a medium sauté pan set over medium-low heat, add all but a scant teaspoon of the shallot and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 7 minutes.

Add the garlic, sauté 2 minutes more and season with salt. Add the mushrooms, toss, sauté 2 or 3 minutes, add the wine, cover the pan and simmer gently until the mushrooms are fully tender, from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the type of mushroom.

Taste the mushrooms, correct for salt, season very generously with black pepper and stir in the Italian parsley. Set aside.

Put the reserved shallot into a small bowl, add the vinegar and pinot noir, season with salt and a few turns of black pepper and whisk in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Taste and correct for salt and acid balance, adding the remaining olive oil if too tart.

To serve, arrange lettuce leaves on individual plates and top with warm lentils. Drizzle a little of the dressing over the lentils, spoon mushrooms on top and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Serve warm.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date, including The Good Cook's Book of Oil & Vinegar. Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com.