A new crop of cookbooks is being written during this period of social isolation. Next year we are likely to see titles like Cooking in the Time of Pandemic and The Can Opener Cookbook for sale on Amazon. Unlike Depression era cookbook recipes that coaxed flavor from basic provisions, these will champion creative ways to live comfortably with less.
Six weeks ago I could shop daily for whatever foods caught my fancy at that moment. Now I shop once a week, as I did when my children were young, but I go out early in the morning wearing a mask and nitrile gloves. Rather than purchasing ingredients for two or three different recipes, I purchase for one recipe based on a grain, legume or rice. I cook a large quantity and serve it with variations several times during the week.
One of my favorite choices is a lentil salad that offers many sensuous pleasures. For best results, I purchase deep green lentils from France or an organic variety. (Lentils previously sold in bulk are currently packed in plastic containers at Whole Foods; Jewel sells green lentils in boxes.) Unlike colored dals and split peas, lentils are a legume with a tough outer skin that when cooked, al dente, pop gently in your mouth as their skins burst.
The other ingredients offer flavor and texture accents: the caramel fragrance and crunch of toasted hazelnuts, creamy chunks of avocado, a tart lemon vinaigrette for contrast and palate-cleansing parsley leaves. This low-key harmony of flavors welcomes a topping of crumbled feta, cubes of cold salmon or steamed mussels. I'm sure you have something in your refrigerator that will work.
LENTIL, HAZELNUT AND AVOCADO SALAD
Ingredients for 3 - 4 servings:
1 cup of green lentils (lentilles de Puy preferred)
1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup hazelnuts
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 avocado
1/3 cup Italian parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
Rinse and pick over the lentils. Combine them with 2 cups water and the garlic in a saucepan. Bring liquid to a simmer and simmer, partially covered, until the lentils are just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain remaining liquid, remove the garlic and reserve.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 5 - 10 minutes. While they are still warm, rub off as much brown skin as will come off easily in a towel. Coarsely chop them and reserve.
Make a vinaigrette by whisking lemon juice with mustard and slowly adding olive oil. Taste for balance and add salt and pepper, to taste.
Cut an avocado in half vertically tracing the knife around the seed in the center. Twist the halves apart and remove the seed by impaling it on the knife (gently) and twisting it out. Cut vertical slices in the fruit without cutting through the peel and release them by running a spoon between the flesh and the peel.
Fold the hazelnuts and avocado into the lentils. Blend in the vinaigrette and parsley.
