The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi, 1570
I love lentils! They are one of my favorite legumes and they have a very long history of cultivation dating back between 8000 and 10000 years ago. When I found this recipe in Scappi's Opera I knew I had to try it. It makes a delicious (and inexpensive) soup, but an even better salad. This particular "salad" was first created for a luncheon for House Beauvisage. I needed something easy to put together, that would fit a vegetarian diet, and would be ok served cold or at room temperature.
I have to confess, I cheated and used canned lentils for the salad, but you could make this even less expensive and purchase dried lentils and cook them yourself according to your package's directions. I have included the soup recipe here, along with the changes I made to convert this from a soup to a salad.
Original Recipe
Per far minestra di Lenti secche
Pulite le lenticchie dallo sporco e mettetele in una pentola con acqua tiepida; togliere quelli che galleggiano e far bollire il resto nella stessa acqua. Mentre cuociono, con un cucchiaio grande e forato tirate fuori quelli che salgono in superficie e metteteli in un'altra pentola: questo è fatto in modo che la sabbia che a volte entra nel loro buchino fuoriesca e cada sul fondo della pentola. In una pentola mettete delle buone lenticchie con l'olio, il sale, un po' di pepe, lo zafferano, l'acqua e una manciata di erbe fini sbattute; finire di cuocerli. Affinché il piatto sia buono, rendere il brodo piuttosto denso. Con essi si possono cuocere anche spicchi d'aglio, pezzetti di tinca e luccio.
My Interpretation
Clean dirt off the lentils and put them into a pot with warm water; remove any that float and boil the rest in the same water. While they are boiling, with a large, holed spoon lift out any that rise to the top and put them into another pot: that is done so that the sand that sometimes gets into their little hole will come out and drop to the bottom of the pot. Put good lentils into a pot with oil, salt, a little pepper, saffron, water, and a handful of beaten fine herbs; finish off cooking them. For the dish to be good, make the broth rather thick. Cloves of garlic can also be cooked with them and bit pieces of tench and pike.
ngredients
1 ½ c. lentils
2 ½ c. water
2 T olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic chopped
3/4 tsp salt
¼ tsp. Pepper
Herbs to taste; basil, rosemary, oregano, fennel, thyme, parsley, or sage Pinch saffron Opt: Onion (for modern taste), additional olive oil, lemon
Instructions
NOTE: The beauty of lentils is that they do not need to go through a prolonged soaking period. Do make sure to rinse your lentils before you add them to your pot of water, and do make sure that as they cook you remove any that rise to the top, and any scum that forms while they are cooking. You can if you choose cook your lentils in vegetable stock but it is not a necessary step.
2. Bring water (or stock) to a boil. Add your seasonings, and then lower the heat to a medium-low and simmer your soup until the lentils are tender.
NOTE: You may add any herbs you wish. I usually add a handful of kale to this soup along with some onion, thyme, basil, and parsley.
3. To serve, garnish with a drizzle of oil and a squirt of lemon.
To Make into a "Salad" - Make a dressing using lemon juice or vinegar (about 1/4 cup), olive oil (about 3/4 cup), herbs, and spices, and mix with your lentils while warm. Can be served warm, room temperature, or cold.
