flipRed Lentil and Barley Stew
Red Lentil and Barley Stew
Why this dish? This is the everyday dish of every Israelite household, from palace to cottage: the nazid of red lentils, the same red stew for which Esau sold his birthright. Before she was queen, Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and fed her table this simple stew; it reminds us where the king's mother came from.
A thick, comforting stew of red lentils and hulled barley, flavored with cumin, onion, and olive oil. Eaten warm, dipping bread into it, without a spoon.
Draw near, and do not scorn this humble dish: before the holy oil touched my son's forehead, I long mixed lentil and barley over the hearth fire. You fry the onion in oil until it turns golden, then toss in the lentils and a little crushed cumin, and let the fire do its patient work. Keep a light hand on the salt, for the lentil drinks much of it. It is a stew of nothing, and yet men have sold their birthright for it.
- •Red lentils — two full measures (base of the stew)
- •Hulled barley — one measure (thicken and nourish)
- •Onion — one, large (aromatic base)
- •Olive oil — as needed (fat and binding)
- •Cumin — a pinch, crushed (flavor)
- •Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Red Lentil and Barley Stew
A thick, comforting stew of red lentils and hulled barley, flavored with cumin, onion, and olive oil. Eaten warm, dipping bread into it, without a spoon.
Why this dish? This is the everyday dish of every Israelite household, from palace to cottage: the nazid of red lentils, the same red stew for which Esau sold his birthright. Before she was queen, Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and fed her table this simple stew; it reminds us where the king's mother came from.
Draw near, and do not scorn this humble dish: before the holy oil touched my son's forehead, I long mixed lentil and barley over the hearth fire. You fry the onion in oil until it turns golden, then toss in the lentils and a little crushed cumin, and let the fire do its patient work. Keep a light hand on the salt, for the lentil drinks much of it. It is a stew of nothing, and yet men have sold their birthright for it.
Ingredients (period version)
- Red lentils — two full measures (base of the stew)
- Hulled barley — one measure (thicken and nourish)
- Onion — one, large (aromatic base)
- Olive oil — as needed (fat and binding)
- Cumin — a pinch, crushed (flavor)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Red lentils (coral) — 200 g (base of the stew)
- Pearl barley — 80 g (thicken and nourish)
- Onion — 1 large, sliced (aromatic base)
- Olive oil — 3 tbsp (fat and binding)
- Ground cumin — 1 tsp (flavor)
- Water or vegetable broth — 1 liter (cooking liquid)
- Salt — 1 tsp (seasoning)
Method
- Sauté the sliced onion in olive oil over low heat until soft and golden.
- Add cumin and stir for a few seconds to release its aroma.
- Pour in the pearl barley and water, simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the red lentils and cook for another 15 minutes, until everything is tender and thick.
- Season with salt at the end, adjust olive oil, and serve warm with bread for dipping.
How it was made : Lentils (Lens culinaris) and barley are among the oldest cultivated crops in the Levant. The nazid was cooked in a clay pot set on embers or an clay hearth. Spoons were rare; people ate by pinching the stew with a folded piece of bread.
The contemporary twist : A drizzle of raw olive oil and a few toasted cumin seeds at serving time, in a terracotta bowl, to revive 'Esau's stew'.
Sources : Genesis 25:29–34 (Esau's lentil stew) · Nathan MacDonald, *What Did the Ancient Israelites Eat?*, Eerdmans, 2008
Bathsheba · Charactorium
