Good Canadians eat lentils
Seven cities take part in month-long contest honouring healthy crop
Lentils are like Canadians — humble and modest to a fault.
So even the most educated eaters probably don’t realize that we have quietly become the world’s largest lentil producer since we first started growing the crop in the 1970s.
We have 5,000 lentil farmers, mainly in Saskatchewan, and they planted 1.25 million hectares of the crop last year.
We ship most of our lentils to far-flung spots such as India, Turkey, Egypt and Algeria. Here at home, though, lentils are looking for love.
“How do you describe something that’s so fundamental to our culinary nation but we know sweet diddly squat about it?” muses culinary activist Anita Stewart.
“We are producing more lentils than anybody in the world and are feeding millions of people and yet we don’t know about it. It’s something we should celebrate.”
And celebrate we shall for the month of June with a restaurant competition launched by Canadian Lentils. Twenty-four restaurants in seven cities have created signature lentil dishes for the “FunDeLentil Tour.”
All we, the eating public, have to do is go to Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and/or Halifax, eat lentil dishes and vote at fundelentil.ca. The prize is a trip for two to one of the seven cities with meals at all of its lentil-loving restaurants.
In Toronto, Canadian Lentils and Stewart recently teamed up for a media bus trip/eating extravaganza to Farmhouse Tavern, Boralia, George and Pangaea restaurants.
Farmhouse Tavern on Dupont St. is pairing warm beluga lentils with fiddleheads, dry-aged rib-eye bacon (made in-house) and soft poached duck eggs.
“Who doesn’t like breakfast any time of the day?” asks executive chef Tom Wade.
At Boralia on Ossington Ave., Nova Scotia-raised chef Wayne Morris serves a smoky lentil hodgepodge with spring vegetables. “It’s absolute pure spring,” enthuses Stewart. Lorenzo Loseto, executive chef of George restaurant on Queen St. E., makes lentil salad with Dungeness crab and fava beans.
Pangaea restaurant chef Martin Kouprie has gone to town with “celeriac-dusted veal loin on spiced black gram and red lentils, 24-hour marinated scallop, grilled fine herb lentil cake with shaved and pickled spring vegetables.”
For the Elora-based Stewart, founder of the Food Day Canada event (running Aug. 1 this year), “lentils are really good, basic food stuff because they’re so darn easy to cook.”
She first tasted lentils in 1968 when she worked for the Canadian government in Toronto and a Pakistani colleague brought in a whole wheat sandwich filled with curried lentils. “God it was good,” she remembers. After singing the praises of retired Saskatchewan crop developer Al Slinkard, who developed the Laird lentil and helped build Canada’s pulse crop industry, Stewart urged everyone to honour “the chefs that take it up to the next step and inspire the home cooks.”
So eat a lentil — green, split red, black/ beluga or French green. It’s a patriotic act.
Warm Lentils, Poached Eggs, Red Pepper Relish + Harissa Yogurt
Star Tested This is a home cook’s streamlined version of the “breakfast for dinner” lentils executive chef Tom Wade is serving at Farmhouse Tavern. You can add cooked bacon slices, cooked fiddleheads or other greens, diced preserved lemons and buttermilk ranch dressing (like the chef does) if you like.
I bought beluga lentils at Bulk Barn. Look for them in some fine food shops or substitute French green lentils. Harissa is a Tunisian chili paste that’s sold in some supermarkets and fine food stores as well as Middle Eastern shops like Arz Fine Foods. Lentils: 1 cup (250 mL) dried black/beluga lentils, picked over, rinsed 2 cups (500 mL) water or stock (beef, veal, chicken, vegetable) 2 cloves garlic, minced Large pinch kosher salt 1/2 cup (125 mL) mixed chopped herbs (tarragon, dill, parsley, chives) Roasted Red Pepper Relish: 1 roasted red pepper, finely chopped 1 tbsp (15 mL) finely diced shallot/onion 1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 tbsp (15 mL) light brown sugar 1/4 cup (60 mL) olive oil 2 tbsp (30 mL) sherry or red wine vinegar Harissa Yogurt: 1/2 cup (125 mL) plain Greek or full-fat yogurt 1 tbsp (15 mL) harissa paste Juice of 1/2 lime Pinch freshly ground black pepper For serving: 4 poached eggs For lentils, in medium saucepan, combine lentils, water or stock, garlic and salt. Bring to simmer over medium-high (do not boil). Reduce heat to low; cover. Cook until just tender, about 25 minutes; drain. Transfer to bowl; stir in herbs. (Makes about 2 cups/500 mL.)
For red pepper relish, in small bowl, stir together red pepper, shallot or onion, parsley and sugar. Whisk in oil and vinegar. (For a smoother, sauce-like consistency, pulse everything in a mini food processor or blender instead.) Refrigerate, in covered container, until ready to use. Makes about 3/4 cup (175 mL).
For harissa yogurt, in small bowl, stir together yogurt, harissa, lime juice and pepper until smooth. Refrigerate, in covered container, until ready to use.
To serve, divide lentils among 4 shallow bowls or plates. Top each with 1 poached egg. Drizzle each portion with red pepper relish and harissa yogurt to taste.
Makes 4 servings. jbain@thestar.ca