Lentils have long been used as a sophisticated accompaniment to sausages and roasts, and in lentil salads. In more earthy incarnations, they make a hearty soup or one-dish meal, often with rice or pasta.

Writers such as Richard Olney declare lentils suitable to accompany any "furred game." This is one of my favorite phrases. I am not entirely sure what it means. I suppose it includes bear, deer, and beaver, but not crocodile, elephant, ostrich, or whale, which have no fur. Remember to remove fur from furred game before eating.

Method

Classic instructions say to cook below the simmer about an hour until lentils are soft, but retain their shape. Anyone who has struggled with this knows that keeping the shape is easier said than done. No one should feel like a second class citizen if you do not attain perfectly soft, perfectly shaped, lentils by this method.

Rescue has come from an innovation of Julia Child’s. She first soaks the lentils in cold water for 1 hour, then cooks them 12 to 15 minutes.

Of course if you are going to puree anyway, the shape doesn’t matter.

Seasonings at the Start

All lentil recipes call for seasonings at the finish, but additional seasonings may or may not be added at the start of cooking. You have a choice here.

Salt

With dried beans, it is well established that salt should be added part way through cooking, after the skin has softened. Does this apply to lentils?

Lentil recipes generally add salt from the beginning. However, Alice Waters thinks that this toughens the skin, as with beans. She must be right, but I do not know how significant this is in the case of lentils.

Lentils Cooked Alone

Care should be taken when lentils are cooked together with meats. Such communal cooking should be brief. Lentils have their own flavor, distinctive but somewhat delicate, and this can be lost if they are cooked over a long time with strongly flavored meat.

Liquid

Lentil cooking liquid has a nice flavor and can be reserved for soup or stock pot.

Ahead of Time

Lentils may be cooked and held several hours in their cooking liquid. They may be refrigerated 2 or 3 days, or frozen, again in their liquid.

This method is the result of Julia Child’s never-ending quest to improve procedures for the home cook. Lentils are soaked an hour, then cooked 12 to 15 minutes. I like this method, not only because better-shaped lentils are produced, but because the time for scrutinizing the lentils, as to their tenderness and shape, is concentrated. It does take slightly longer than the conventional one-step method.

Pick over the lentils for any small pieces of stone. Rinse them and drain. Place them in the pan with the fresh cold water and let soak 1 hour.

To cook, leave lentils in their soaking water and add salt. Bring rapidly to the simmer. Turn heat down and cook uncovered, just below the simmer, with an occasional bubble coming to the surface (190 to 200 degrees F. on the instant dial thermometer).

Lentils should be done in about 12 to 15 minutes, but times may vary depending on lentils and heat.

Lentils are now cooked and ready for use in various recipes. Keep in the cooking liquid until needed.

In the conventional method lentils are simply cooked in salted water about an hour.

Pick over lentils, removing any tiny pieces of stone. Rinse them and drain.

Place lentils in the pan and cover well with cold water. Bring water rapidly to the simmer. Turn heat down and cover. Cook just below the simmer, with an occasional bubble coming to the surface (190 to 200 degrees F. on the instant dial thermometer).

After ½ hour cooking, add salt.

Lentils are done when soft, but still retain their shape. This will often take about 1 hour, but sometimes longer, to 1 ½ hours, depending on the lentils and heat.

Lentils are now cooked and ready for use in various recipes. Keep in the cooking liquid until needed.

This is the style of lentils that, whole or pureed, have accompanied lamb, duck, beef, sausages, or salt pork, in the French tradition.

Seasonings are included at the start of cooking. Finish is simple, just butter and parsley. These seasonings, particularly the thyme, garlic, and bay leaf, mesh delectably with lentils.

This recipe uses the "new method" for lentils (see above), an hour soak plus 15 minutes cooking.

Serves 4 to 6

Pick over the lentils for any small pieces of stone. Rinse them and drain. Place them in the pan with the fresh cold water and let soak 1 hour.

At start of soak, or any convenient time during, stir in carrot, onion with clove inserted, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf.

After soaking, bring lentils rapidly to the simmer. Add salt. Turn heat down and cook uncovered, just below the simmer, with an occasional bubble coming to the surface (190 to 200 degrees F. on the instant dial thermometer).

Lentils should be done in about 12 to 20 minutes, depending on lentils and heat. Let them stand in their liquid until ready to serve.

(May be made ahead of time to this point.)

To finish

Just before serving, take out carrot, onion, bay leaf, and garlic slice.

Reheat lentils gently in their liquid if they have cooled

Drain lentils, reserving liquid for stock or soup. Stir in butter and chopped parsley. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Variation

Add a piece of orange zest with the thyme and other seasonings.

FLAVORINGS

Lentils present an interesting challenge for flavorings. They have their own distinctive flavor, more so than most dried beans. Yet if served alone and not with sausages, say, they always need a little something. A typical counterpoint is onions fried in oil to the golden brown stage, but around the world, the "little somethings" constitute a wide variety.

In this Middle Eastern recipe the lentils are cooked plain. At the end, golden brown onions are added, together with briefly fried garlic and coriander, plus butter.

Cook the lentils, using the new or conventional method.

While lentils are cooking, sauté onions in oil until golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

To finish

If lentils have been held, reheat them in their cooking liquid.

Reheat onions in the hot oil if necessary. Crush garlic and coriander seeds. Add them to the oil and fry gently for 2 minutes, or until the garlic is golden.

Drain lentils, reserving liquid for soup or stock pot. Stir in onion-spice mixture. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add butter and serve.

With the golden onions, stir in the following:

Pasta may be cooked ahead and held in cold water. Just before stirring pasta into lentils, replace cold water with hot tap water, then drain pasta.

Stir in yogurt.
Or, stir in yogurt with roasted cumin. This is special!

Here, instead of golden onions added at the end, spices are cooked with the lentils. Lemon and cayenne pepper are added at the finish.

The conventional method, as described above, is used here, to develop the flavors.

A final embellishment of cumin in hot oil is an extra touch. )

Serves 4 to 6

Pick over the lentils for any small pieces of stone. Rinse them and drain.

Place lentils and water in the pan. Add cinnamon, bay leaf, garlic, ginger, and turmeric.

Bring water rapidly to the simmer. Turn heat down and cover. Cook just below the simmer, with an occasional bubble coming to the surface (190 to 200 degrees F. on the instant dial thermometer)

Lentils are done when soft, but still retain their shape. This will often take about 1 hour, but sometimes longer, to 1 ½ hours, depending on the lentils and heat.

When lentils are done, slice lemon in 2 or 3 round slices, and remove seeds. Add lemon to the lentils. Season with salt, pepper, and optional cayenne. Simmer covered another 5 minutes.

(May be done ahead to this point.)

Just before serving, heat oil in the skillet. When very hot, add cumin seeds. As soon as the cumin seeds darken, a few seconds, pour hot oil and spices over the lentils, and serve.

Serve with rice. Alternatively, if available, serve with an Indian bread: chapati, poori, paratha, bhatura, or naan.