Correspondent photo by ERIC STANWAY
Lentil Soup
Correspondent photo by ERIC STANWAY
(Esau) said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!”
Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”
“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.
– Genesis 25: 30-34
When exploring ancient foods, they don’t come much older than lentils. Seriously, we’re talking caveman food here. The earliest archeological dating of this legume has been found in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic layers at Franchthi Cave in Greece, some 9,500 to 13,000 years ago. Other samples have been found in Syria, from about 8,000 B.C., and even from the ancient city of Jericho.
The nutritional profile of lentils apparently made it immensely popular in the ancient world; high in protein, they made an ideal meat substitute when times were hard.
Along with einkorn and emmer wheats, barley, pea and flax, lentils made up an important part of the ancient Middle Eastern diet. It’s pretty obvious that the Israelites held them in high regard, as in the biblical reference above.
The ancient Greeks were also really fond of the legume. The prolific author Gaius Plinius Secundus, also known as Pliny the elder, described in length the cultivation, preparation and medicinal properties of lentils. Additionally, the comic playwright Aristophanes declared, “You, who dare insult lentil soup, sweetest of delicacies!”
The Egyptians also loved lentils, as a preparation of lentil soup is shown in a fresco from the time of Ramses II (12,000 B.C.). Additionally, a ship carrying an obelisk to Rome in the reign of the mad Emperor Caligula is said to have carried lentils as packing.
Of course, with any food so cheap and available, it soon earned the disdain of the richer classes. In fact, there was a well-known saying in ancient Greece applied to the nouveau riche that “he doesn’t like lentils any more.”
Lentils were cheap, and they became a staple of the diet of the poor in both Roman and Greek societies. Principally, they made them into a dish called “conchis,” in which the lentils were cooked in their pods. The ancient gourmand Apicius also mentioned lentils at length, while the sixth-century cook Athimus recommended that lentils be cooked slowly, along with vinegar and Syrian sumac, then served with olive oil, whole coriander and a little salt.
The introduction of lentils into the New World was undertaken by the Spanish and Portuguese, but it never really caught on in the U.S. until the World War I. In World War II, the popularity of lentils spread throughout this country as meat was rationed, and families were looking for a meat substitute.
With winter coming in, you could do worse than to create a batch of lentil soup. The following recipe, adapted loosely from one created by the late Jeff Smith, aka “The Frugal Gourmet,” is pretty long-winded, but worth it. I started making the stock on Saturday afternoon, and the soup wasn’t ready until Sunday evening. That said, it’s ideal fare for a cold afternoon.
LENTIL SOUP
Makes 12 servings.
FOR THE STOCK:
2 pounds soup bones
2 ribs celery
1 onion
2 carrots
Water
FOR THE LENTILS:
1 pound lentils
2 cups water, or to taste
3 rashers bacon
2 carrots
2 onions
2 ribs celery, with the leaves
2 tablespoons sherry
2 tablespoons white vinegar
First, make the stock. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and roast the bones for two hours, until well browned. In a stock pot, add the vegetables and the bones, and cover with water to about three-quarters the way up the side of the pot. Bring to a boil, and then take the heat down. Simmer for 12 hours, covered, checking the water every now and then to make sure it doesn’t dry out. (I did this overnight, but checked it regularly.)
Drain the stock through a colander into a large mixing bowl. Discard vegetables and bones.
Pick over the lentils, and put them in another bowl, and allow them to soak for two hours. Drain.
Clean out the stock pot, and fry the bacon, until rendered and slightly soft. Saute the vegetables, and then add the lentils. Stir until the lentils are well mixed with the vegetables and the bacon fat. Add the stock, and basically simmer for as long as you feel like. About half-hour before serving, add the sherry and vinegar.
Serve with crusty whole-wheat bread.
Eric Stanway can be reached at Eric.Stanway@yahoo.com or www.Eric Stanway.com.
