lentil spread / crema (da spalmare) di lenticchie

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[versione in italiano]

small lentils, big flavor
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

After reading the first six Adam Dalgliesh novels by P.D. James in order of publication, I skipped to #11 Death in Holy Orders which I purchased some time ago at a library sale. Then last month, at a local bookstore, I picked The Lighthouse which is #13 (2005). Death in Holy Orders ended with Commander Dalgliesh (Metropolitan Police Service at New Scotland Yard) in love with Emma Lavenham and I was glad to see her still in his life in The Lighthouse. 

I love P.D. James's novels: her writing is evocative, exact, engaging. I particularly enjoy her descriptions of landscapes and interiors. James's descriptive skills are in full display in The Lighthouse which is set in the (fictional) Combe Island off the Cornish coast 'a restful haven for the elite'. The immediate reason for Dalgliesh's presence on Combe is the violent death of a famous novelist, Nathan Oliver. One of the plot's twists is provided by one of the island's guests falling gravely ill and being diagnosed with SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)²

a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus called SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003. The illness spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before the SARS global outbreak of 2003 was contained. 

Dalgliesh also falls ill and I will stop here before I reveal too much. I admit is was a bit chilling to read about that SARS-CoV. But the novel is intense and masterfully written: P.D. James spins her tale slowly and meticulously, keeping the reader engaged until the last line.

Given that Combe Island is a retreat for rich and powerful people, the food is formal and not particularly intriguing. What inspired me are various occasions in the story where characters come together: there are beverages (wine or tea), but never a bite to eat. I wanted to enter the story and bring a tray with foods, like a spread with crackers.

sesame seeds toasted and raw

In my archives I have recipes for spreads made with beans (fagioli) and chickpeas (ceci) but not lentils, so I started experimenting with those, using some ingredients from the recipe for hummus. I made tahini using toasted sesame seeds: I like the aroma of roasted sesame seeds and making tahini is quick and satisfying.

I stock up on lentils when I visit my home town of Perugia. The two special varieties grown in Umbria are lenticchia di Castelluccio and lenticchia dell'Altopiano di Colfiorito. Both are small with tender skin and cook relatively quickly. Their delicate, earthy flavor is a delight. 

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Lentil spread

Ingredients for toasted sesame tahini:

• 1 cup /150 g / 5 1/4 ounces white sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Ingredients for the lentils:

• 1/2 cup / 100 g / 3 1/2 ounces Colfiorito lentils OR Castelluccio lentils OR other small lentils
• 1 cup / 240 ml water
• A small bay leaf
  
• 1 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

Ingredients for the lentil spread:

• Cooked lentils (ingredients above, method below)
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml toasted sesami tahini (recipe below)
• 1 tablespoon / 15 ml fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon harissa mix
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
• Additional water to achieve desired consistency, as needed

How to make toasted sesame tahini
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet on medium heat until they are tanned and fragrant. This will take just a few minutes. Shake the skillet often or stir the seeds with a spatula. Guard the seeds like a hawk as they burn easily. Transfer the seeds to a plate and let cool completely.

Process the sesame seeds in a small food processor or blender until a thick paste forms. Add the olive oil and process until smooth. Add sea salt and process briefly to distribute. Transfer the tahini to a glass jar, cover with a lid and refrigerate until ready to use.

How to cook the lentils
Sort the lentils, rinse them, then place them in a small saucepan with the water, bay leaf, garlic and salt. Cover the saucepan and quickly bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and let the lentils simmer, covered, until they are tender, 30 minutes or as needed. Check after 15-20 minutes and estimate the time necessary to complete the cooking.

Remove and discard the bay leaf and garlic. Let the lentils cool in the saucepan.

How to make the lentil spread
Place the cooked lentils in a food processor. Add all the other ingredients: tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, spices and salt. Process until creamy, adding water as needed to achieve the desired consistency. I keep it fairly dense to serve it as part of a main dish combination (see below).

Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate. Take the bowl out of the refrigerator ahead of serving the spread.

Serve with crackers and/or fresh vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces as appetizer, or spoon on plate to accompany other dishes, like a salad or a slice of frittata).

Serves 4

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¹ Review of the novel in the NY Times
² SARS page on the CDC website
³ Recipes from briciole's archive: fasole bătută, refried beans, artichoke hummus, bean, onion and cherry tomato spread.

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

crema (da spalmare) di lenticchie

or launch the crema (da spalmare) di lenticchie audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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This is my contribution to the 41st edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started 13 years ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

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FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

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lentils, spread, tahini, Italian cuisine

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crema (da spalmare) di lenticchie

lenticchie piccole dal sapore grande
(tovaglietta de La FABBRICA del LINO)

Per la seconda edizione della Fattoria ho preparato un piatto utilizzando una delle eccellenze dell'Umbria, la mia terra di origine. La lenticchia di Castelluccio di Norcia non ha bisogno di presentazione. Ma non è l'unica varietà di questo legume gustoso, nutriente e facile da preparare: c'è la lenticchia dell'Altopiano di Colfiorito, anch'essa caratterizzata dalle piccole dimensioni. 

Delizie umbre

Fare la spesa all'Antica Spezieria e Drogheria Eredi Bavicchi¹ a Perugia mi ha fatto conoscere ed apprezzare questo ed altri legumi tradizionali umbri e non solo. Mi piacciono molto i sacchi a righe che contengono i legumi e i cartelli scritti a mano che presentano le caratteristiche dei prodotti. (La foto qui sopra è di qualche anno fa, quindi il prezzo non è corrente.) Nel negozio potete anche trovare spezie, cioccolato, cereali e farine e tanti altri prodotti.

semi di sesame tostati e crudi

Ho cotto le lenticchie come al solito poi ho deciso di preparare qualcosa di diverso, una crema spalmabile ispirata all'hummus (crema a base di ceci), in particolare per quanto riguarda l'uso della tahina. Qualche tempo fa ne comprai una versione fatta con semi di sesamo tostati, versione che ho provato a fare in casa e che è diventata per me standard.

Ingredienti per la tahina con semi di sesamo tostati:

• 150 g di semi di sesamo
• 2 cucchiai / 30 ml di olio extra-vergine di oliva
• 1/4 cucchiaino di sale fino

Ingredienti per le lenticchie:

• 100 g lenticchie di Colfiorito o di Castelluccio
• 240 ml acqua
• 1 piccola foglia di alloro
• 1 spicchio d'aglio pelato
• 1/8 cucchiaino di sale fino

Ingredienti per la crema di lenticchie:

• Lenticchie cotte (ingredienti qui sopra, preparazione a seguire)
• 2 cucchiai / 30 ml tahina con semi di sesamo tostati (ricetta a seguire)
• 1 cucchiaio / 15 ml di succo di limone
• 2 cucchiai / 30 ml di olio extra-vergine di oliva
• 1 piccolo spicchio d'aglio, tritato
• 1/4 cucchiaino cumino in polvere
• 1/4 cucchiaino harissa in polvere
• 1/8 cucchiaino di sale fino, a seconda del gusto
• Acqua in aggiunta per ottenere la consistenza desiderata

Preparare la tahina ai semi di sesamo toastati
Tostare i semi di sesamo in una padella a secco su calore medio fino a quando siano dorati e fragranti. Scuotere spesso la padella o muovere i semi con una spatola. La doratura avviene in pochi minuti, quindi prestare attenzione o i semi si bruciano. Trasferire i semi su un piatto a farli raffreddare.

Frullare i semi di sesame fino a che formino una pasta densa. Aggiungere l'olio d'oliva e frullare a che si formi una crema omogenea. Aggiungere il sale e frullare brevemente per distribuirlo. Trasferire la tahina in un vasetto di vetro, coprire e tenere in frigorifero fino al momento dell'uso.

Cuocere le lenticchie
Mondare le lenticchie e sciacquarle, poi metterle in un pentolino con l'acqua, l'alloro, l'aglio e il sale. Coprire il pentolino e portare a bollore rapidamente. Abbassare il calore e far cuocere le lenticchie, coperte, fino a quando siano tenere, 30 minuti o il tempo necessario. Controllare dopo 15-20 minuti e valutare quanto tempo manca al termine della cottura.

Rimuovere l'alloro e l'aglio e scartarli. Far raffreddare le lenticchie nel pentolino.

Preparare la crema di lenticchie
Frullare le lenticchie cotte insieme agli altri ingredienti (tahina, succo di limone, olio d'oliva, spezie e sale) fino ad ottenere una crema omogenea. Aggiungere un po' d'acqua, se necessario, per ottenere la consistenza desiderata. Io la mantengo piuttosto densa per servirla anche come piatto principale in combinazione (vedi sotto).

Trasferire la crema in una ciotola e metterla in frigorifero. Tirarla fuori un'ora prima di servirla.

Servire con cracker e/o verdure fresche tagliate a bocconcini (per esempio, carote, cavolfiore) come aperitivo, oppure come pietanza insieme ad un'insalata o un trancio di frittata.

Porzioni: 4

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¹ Antica Spezieria e Drogheria Eredi Bavicchi

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Porto la mia crema di lenticchie sulla tavola del 2° mese del gruppo Fattoria consapevole e solidale: I legumi.

La lista delle ricette contribuite questo mese.

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FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto gli articoli di lino gratuitamente dall'azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentarli sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.

Comments

[Debra Eliotseats]

I love this idea. I've experimented with different beans for spreads too. I guess I could sub in tahini since I don't have a cup of sesame seeds???? I bet that was a bit eerie reading about SARS.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you Debra. By all means, you can try making the recipe with tahini. Let me know if you do. It was eerie, indeed :)

[Elizabeth]

Eeeeeeek!!! I cannot believe I lost track of time. How can it be 8 April already?! I had great plans for participating too, with several books to choose from, but one in particular that I was completely entranced by.

Strangely, I've never read any PD James, even though her books have been recommended to me often. (We've watched the PBS series featuring the character Adam Dalgliesh and really liked it too.) Inspector Dalgliesh comes down with SARS!! What a timely book to read these days. And how different the world is since the SARS outbreak. (I often think about going to donate blood here in Toronto in 2003 before SARS was announced as being officially contained here and being asked if I had been exposed to anyone with SARS. I looked back in surprise and said, "Well, I live in Toronto....")

The characters never have anything to eat with their drinks?! No wonder they became ill! Your lentil spread sounds wonderful, Simona, and just the thing to comfort us as we abide by our latest province-wide stay-at-home orders.

Take care!

[Simona Carini]

Dear Elizabeth, please do not worry: losing track of time happens. I plan to host Novel Food again, so hold that plan :) I do like PD James and can only recommend her books.