Pot of Lentils and Emmer with Furrow Herbs
A thick stew of brown lentils and emmer (spelt) grains, melted down, flavoured with onion, garlic, cumin and bitter herbs, bound with olive oil. Rustic, deep, generous: the feast of those who have only the earth, but a good earth.
A thick stew of brown lentils and emmer (spelt) grains, melted down, flavoured with onion, garlic, cumin and bitter herbs, bound with olive oil. Rustic, deep, generous: the feast of those who have only the earth, but a good earth.
On great harvest days, the porridge is not enough. I would throw into the big pot a measure of lentils, a measure of emmer, the onion and garlic, and let the fire do its work all afternoon until it all became one. I added the bitter herbs from the field's edge, for sweetness alone wearies the mouth. Then we all sat around, broke the flatbread, dipped into the pot — and for one evening, we forgot that the ground was cursed under my feet.
- •Brown lentils — two handfuls (staple legume)
- •Emmer (spelt) grains — one handful (binding cereal)
- •Onion — one large (aromatic)
- •Garlic — a few cloves (aromatic)
- •Wild cumin — a pinch (spice)
- •Bitter herbs (wild rocket, dandelion leaves) — one bunch (bitterness)
- •Olive oil — a good drizzle (fat binder)
- •Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Pot of Lentils and Emmer with Furrow Herbs
A thick stew of brown lentils and emmer (spelt) grains, melted down, flavoured with onion, garlic, cumin and bitter herbs, bound with olive oil. Rustic, deep, generous: the feast of those who have only the earth, but a good earth.
Why this dish? When the harvest came in, the labourer brought out the big pot. Lentils and emmer — the first two domesticated crops of the Fertile Crescent, from Cain's fields — simmer together with onions and bitter herbs: the hearty dish that gathers the household around the fire, on the day the earth kept its promises.
On great harvest days, the porridge is not enough. I would throw into the big pot a measure of lentils, a measure of emmer, the onion and garlic, and let the fire do its work all afternoon until it all became one. I added the bitter herbs from the field's edge, for sweetness alone wearies the mouth. Then we all sat around, broke the flatbread, dipped into the pot — and for one evening, we forgot that the ground was cursed under my feet.
Ingredients (period version)
- Brown lentils — two handfuls (staple legume)
- Emmer (spelt) grains — one handful (binding cereal)
- Onion — one large (aromatic)
- Garlic — a few cloves (aromatic)
- Wild cumin — a pinch (spice)
- Bitter herbs (wild rocket, dandelion leaves) — one bunch (bitterness)
- Olive oil — a good drizzle (fat binder)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Brown or green lentils — 200 g (staple legume)
- Spelt (or small spelt) — 100 g (binding cereal)
- Onion — 1 large, chopped (aromatic)
- Garlic — 3 cloves, crushed (aromatic)
- Ground cumin — 1 tsp (spice)
- Rocket or young chard/spinach leaves — 2 handfuls (bitterness)
- Olive oil — 3 tbsp (fat binder)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Soak the spelt for 1 hour if possible, then drain; lentils do not need soaking.
- In a large pot, sauté the chopped onion in olive oil until golden, add the garlic and cumin, stir for 1 minute.
- Add lentils and spelt, cover generously with water (about 1.2 litres), bring to a boil then simmer for 40 to 50 minutes on low heat.
- Add salt at the end of cooking, when the legumes are tender; the mixture should be thick and melting, add water if needed.
- Stir in the chopped bitter herbs, let them wilt for 2 minutes, drizzle with a final splash of olive oil and serve piping hot with a barley flatbread.
How it was made : Lentil and emmer are among the very first domesticated plants of the Neolithic Near East, at the heart of the earliest farming villages. Combining them in one pot (a 'pottage') unknowingly optimised the plant protein intake. These stews were cooked for a long time in earthenware jars buried in embers, and wild bitter herbs, gathered from field edges, provided the essential counterpoint to fat and starch.
The contemporary twist : Served in a cast-iron cocotte at the centre of the table with a swirl of extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, this Neolithic pottage passes for a very current vegetable bistro dish.
Cain · Charactorium