My enemy, my friend, Lentil.

Lately I have been captivated by the mysterious and sensuous lentil.  I have eaten (and greatly enjoyed) them before, and yet, have not been brave enough to cook them.

How does one cook a lentil?  Is it a grain, or a legume? What do I cook with them?  What do I do if I have some laying about, what does a typical non-soup recipe for lentils look like?

For me, the lentil is a foreign mistress, a wild stag that must be broken.

 Truth is I do have lentils laying about, leftover from a recipe a few weeks ago.  They have stayed in my pantry because, as I've said before, I literally do not know what to do with them.

The day I slow-cooked that whole chicken I was unsure as to what to make as a side.  I was also wanting to change up my loyal-but-weary side-salad, while still maintaining some semblance of health.

But what to do?  To the internet, of course! I found this website helpful for cooking, and this one for basic information.   From what I was beginning to understand, red lentils cook fast and therefore were a great option for whipping something up before work. 

But what to cook with them?  I remembered that split peas go well with ham, and I had some bacon laying about, so I cut up a few slices and set to crisping in a hot pan.  I also had some summer spinach hanging out, and I know spinach takes well to other things in a dish like this (a big culinary "why not?). 

First try--I'll cook in a small pot!

I cooked the lentils like rice (two parts water, one part lentils) in low-sodium chicken stock.  

I want to pause a moment to discuss chicken stock.  I am slowly coming to the realization that chicken stock is in my top 5 of kitchen staples (which is another topic altogether). I use it on a daily basis, in everything savory.  Keeping stock around in general is a good idea; even a vegetarian cook should (and probably does) keep vegetable broth around. 

Back to the recipe.  I chopped the spinach up, and set it to cooking with the bacon, along with some pre-sliced onion that I had laying about.  When the lentils were done, I threw the bacon/spinach/onion mixture in with the lentils, gave it a quick stir with salt and pepper, and let it sit awhile before consuming.

On second thought, let's move to a skillet.

It was good, but something was amiss.  I dismissed it at the time, ate it, and went about my day. However, in hindsight, I should have done either a 50/50 solution of stock and water, or just used water, as I don't think the lentils worked well in the stock.  I used low-sodium chicken broth, but my research stated that lentils cook best in the absence of salt.  Indeed, I felt that as though they cooked quickly, there was still an under-done taste to the dish that left me feeling a bit the loser.  A winner, in some ways, too, for completely making up a recipe and having it be edible and enjoyable, but this was a misstep that I felt preventable.

The finished product!

I have a feeling that this was just enough of a minor victory that I will revisit the lentil again at some point.  It might be with a different kind, or a different recipe, but lentils have not seen the last of me.