roasted garlic and lentil Béchamel sauce with roasted tomatoes

My fifth recipe for the USA Dry Peas & Lentils Recipe Rivalry is for a Béchamel sauce with pureed lentils replacing the majority of the milk in the sauce. The sauce is flavored with roasted garlic and fresh tarragon for a nice, light flavor that can be used in a variety of ways, like pasta and poached eggs. Accompanied with the sauce is a side of roasted tomatoes. The flavor of the tomatoes becomes intensified and slightly caramelized when roasted, and compliments the flavors of the sauce extremely well.

What's great about this sauce is that it sort of looks like a cheese (Mornay) sauce. But it's not. But it also has some solid protein going on thanks to the lentils. I chose to go with yellow lentils again so it would give the sauce a nice, neutral color. The lentils are cooked with a mirepoix of carrot, celery, and onions, which are sauteed for a bit before broth (you can use either chicken or vegetable) is added. Once that's heated up, the lentils are added and cooked until tender, then pureed. Roasted garlic is added to the roux of the Bechamel for a little flavor boost. The taste remains light and not overpowering. My addition of tarragon might be a bit different than what you're used to, so start with just 1/2 a tablespoon and taste to see how you like it. Feel free to use the herb of your choice.

All that's left is a little shaving of aged parmesan and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt to finish, and what you have is a perfectly delightful twist on a traditionally heavy sauce. Still filling, but in a different, healthier way.

If you would like more of a brunch option, you can serve the sauce with soft poached eggs. The lightness in flavor and texture of the sauce compliments the eggs, leaving the flavors to blend together without one overpowering the other. And nothing is better than the taste of the runny yolk mixing with the sauce. Also, don't forgo the making of the roasted tomatoes as it compliments everything and will be the missing piece to the puzzle if you leave it out.

So here you have a great basic white sauce featuring lentils to use in a variety of ways, depending on what you happen to be craving at the time. You could also use this sauce in a lasagna, too.

Recipe after the jump.

This recipe was created as part of my involvement with the USA Dried Peas & Lentils Recipe Rivalry. I'll be blogging about lentil recipes over the next two weeks.

1. Lentils with Jalapeno, Cilantro, and Queso Fresco
2. Lentil Olive Salad with Fresh Mozzarella
3. Lentil Enchiladas with Homemade Ancho Chile Sauce
4. Lentil Sprout Spring Rolls with Shrimp

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Roasted Garlic and Lentil Béchamel Sauce with Roasted Tomatoes
Recipe by Christina Provo

Serves 5-6

For roasted tomatoes and garlic ~

8 Roma tomatoes, sliced in half (bottom edges leveled)
Olive oil
Sugar
Coarse sea salt
Pepper
1 head of garlic

For the lentil puree ~

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/3 cup pink lentils

For the suce ~

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
Roasted garlic cloves from 1 head of garlic
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
lentil puree
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, chopped

For serving ~

1-2 poached eggs per person, or
1 pound cooked fettuccine, cooked al dente, and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
Thinly sliced spinach
Parmesan, for grating
coarse sea salt

Directions ~

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with just a bit of oil, about 1/4 teaspoon, just a pinch of sugar (to help caramelize the tops), coarse sea salt and pepper. Slice the top of the head of garlic and drizzle with oil. Place, cut side down, on a small sheet of foil and wrap up. Put on same baking sheet as tomatoes, cut side down. Roast for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the tomatoes are beginning to char and have shrunk in size. The garlic should feel soft when pressed (check after 30 minutes). Remove sheet from oven.


2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium sized pot over medium heat until hot. Add carrot, celery, and onion; saute for 7 minutes, stirring often. Pour in chicken or vegetable broth and heat to a rapid simmer. Stir in lentils, then cover with a lid and cook until lentils are soft and falling apart, about 20-27 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.


3. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. As it's heating, remove garlic cloves and smash with the side of a knife to form a paste. Stir into the butter with 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt and saute for 30 seconds. Whisk in flour and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in milk and chicken broth and whisk to combine, followed by pureed lentil mixture. Once blended, stir in fresh tarragon. Taste for seasonings.


4. If serving with poached eggs, arrange three roasted tomato halves on the plate and a bed of sliced spinach. Ladle sauce onto the spinach, then top with poached eggs. Grate parmesan cheese on top of eggs and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.


5. If serving with pasta, whisk pasta water into sauce. Arrange plate with three roasted tomato halves and a bed of sliced spinach. Place serving of pasta atop spinach and grate with parmesan cheese and sprinkle with coarse salt.

peanut butter swirl brownies

I interrupt this stream of lentils to give you something chocolate. And peanut butter.

A while back I made these brownies, a Martha Stewart recipe, because I liked the way the peanut butter swirls sounded. Not just peanut butter, but a sort of thinned out frosting consisting of a bit of butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla extract. The topping was delicious, and I was anticipating a fudgy brownie with a salt peanutty swirl. Unfortunately, the brownie came out cakey, most likely due to the baking powder in the recipe. It wasn't the experience I had hoped for, so I slowly erased it from my mind, one bite of brownie at a time, followed by a guzzle of cold milk.

On Tuesday it was raining and somewhat chilly all day, which obviously was perfect baking weather. That day, I thought again of the peanut butter swirl brownie, and I decided to make them the next day, but with a few tweaks. I found the recipe on another blog, and she felt the same way about the cakey outcome as I did. She made a secondary version, replacing some of the regular sugar with brown sugar, so I followed suit. I also added a tablespoon of espresso powder to the flour, nixed the baking powder, doubled the salt, and added 2 ounces more chocolate. I was going for broke in the form of ultimate fudginess.

To the peanut butter layer, I thinned it out a bit with some milk, though it was still a little difficult to swirl, so I'd probably use a little more next time. In the version she made, she used natural peanut butter. Good to know it works if that's all you have, so don't fret -- you can still make brownies!

Brownies are so quick, much quicker than cookies to whip up, and make the perfect last minute dessert. If you're rushed for time, make these brownies and get ready to be praised.

Recipe after the jump.

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peanut butter swirl brownies
Recipe adapted from MarthaStewart.com

Makes 16 brownies

for the batter ~

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 ounces good-quality semisweet or dark chocolate chips
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

for the swirl ~

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons whole milk

directions ~

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-1/2 or 10-inch square baking pan and line with foil, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Grease lining (not overhang).


2. Make batter: Put butter and chocolate in a medium sized pot over medium low heat; stir until melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk together flour, espresso powder, and salt in a bowl.


3. Whisk sugars into chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated.


4. Make filling: Stir together butter, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, salt, vanilla, and milk in a bowl until smooth.


5. Pour batter into prepared pan; spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Drop dollops of peanut butter filling on top of batter, spacing about 1 inch apart. Gently swirl peanut butter filling into batter with a butter knife, running the knife lengthwise and crosswise through layers.


6. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Very perfect served with whipped cream.

lentil sprout spring rolls with shrimp

In thinking of creative, unique applications for lentils, I thought of using lentil sprouts in some form. As I was walking through Martin's I was debating between purchasing egg roll wrappers, though finally I settled on spring roll wrappers because I've never made them before, and I figured it would showcase the lentil sprouts the best.

The lentil sprouts obviously have to be made ahead of time. I used the method here, though I used just 1 cup of lentils. The stuff really expands, so make sure your jar is large enough. To reach maximum sproutage, I let mine sit for 4 days. They tasted pretty amazing raw, somewhat nutty and sweet, but I decided to give them a quick steam for this recipe.

Martin's had a great deal for fresh, wild caught shrimp, and since shrimp is my most favorite crustacean in the world there was no way I was passing it up.

The flavoring for the majority of the springs rolls came from the jalapeno and garlic salsa. Finely chopped jalapeno, garlic, a bit of red onion, cilantro, and olive oil are mixed together for a most delicious and quick salsa. You use part of it for the shrimp marinade and as a topping for the lentil sprout and Napa cabbage salad, along with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. The rest is used for a dipping sauce along with an avocado-yogurt dip.

Working with spring roll wrappers was easier than I had thought, much like my experience making sushi, though a bit more challenging. You need to briefly wet the wrappers in water and let them stand for at least thirty seconds for it to be pliable enough to roll. What makes it a challenge is if you wet it too much, it's more difficult to roll since the wrapper is floppy. I found that brushing the wrappers lightly on either side with a pastry brush dipped briefly in water was even simpler, and less of a chance of dipping the wrappers in water for too long. I used spring roll wrappers with both tapioca and rice starches. The tapioca is supposed to keep it from tearing as much.

For a step-by-step guide, click here. I followed their "tuck and roll" method, which will take me a bit more practice time to perfect. I was told by a friend to give the rolls one roll before folding the sides over, so I'll do that next time, too. It would give the moistened wrappers something to stick to, which I think is why I had trouble getting the sides to stay folded.

I was very pleased with the flavors, which remained light and summery. The lentil sprout salad was incredible, and since there will be extra you can serve it with the spring rolls along with the salsa and avocado dip.

There are a few steps involved for this recipe, but it would make the perfect dinner party solution if you assemble all the ingredients and let your guests roll their own spring rolls. You can give awards for the most perfectly formed rolls if you wanted to make it a contest, even!

Kidding.

Recipe after the jump.

This recipe was created as part of my involvement with the USA Dried Peas & Lentils Recipe Rivalry. I'll be blogging about lentil recipes over the next two weeks.

1. Lentils with Jalapeno, Cilantro, and Queso Fresco
2. Lentil Olive Salad with Fresh Mozzarella
3. Lentil Enchiladas with Homemade Ancho Chile Sauce

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Print this recipe

lentil sprout spring rolls with shrimp
Recipe by Christina Provo

Serves about 6

salsa ingredients ~

1 1/2 cup finely chopped jalapeno (seeded and deveined -- seeds can be added depending on level of heat preference)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
7 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup slightly packed cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup olive oil

avocado dip ingredients ~

2 avocados
3/4 cup plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

shrimp ingredients ~

1 pound shrimp, peeled (about 3 shrimp per spring roll)
1 tsp chili powder

lentil-cabbage salad ~

9 cups lentil sprouts (sprouted from 1 cup brown lentils)
4 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp salt

Additional filling ingredients ~

1/2 English cucumber, julienned
1/2 a bell pepper, seeded and cored, julienned into 26-28 thin strips
12-15 spring roll wrappers (the ingredients should include both tapioca and rice starches, preferably)

directions ~

1. Mix salsa ingredients together; set aside.


2. Process avocados, yogurt, and garlic together in the bowl of a food processor until smooth. Scrape into bowl and stir in lime juice and salt. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.


3. Mix shrimp with chili powder. Stir in 1/4 cup salsa and marinate for 15-20 minutes. Heat skillet to medium hot. When skillet has heated, reduce heat to medium and add shrimp. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Remove to bowl to cool. (You won't need to grease the skillet since there's oil in the salsa).


4. While shrimp marinates, heat 2-3 inches of water in a large pot fitted with a steamer tray. When water reaches a rapid simmer, place lentil sprouts on top of tray and cover with a lid. Steam for five minutes. Remove to a bowl and let cool for a few minutes before tossing with the cabbage, 2/3 cup salsa, lime juice, and salt. Set aside.


5. Fill a small bowl with warm water. Assemble ingredients in an assembly line fashion on your work space -- you want everything within reach. Place a large cutting board on the counter for wrapping up spring rolls, and a platter to place them on once rolled.


6. Place a spring roll wrapper on the cutting board. Using a pastry brush, brush both sides lightly with water -- you want to just barely moisten the wrapper. Let sit for 30 seconds to 1 minute to allow the wrapper to soak in the moisture, making it pliable enough to roll.


7. On the bottom 1/3 edge (nearest you), line wrapper with 3 shrimp, no more than 1/4 cup lentil sprout salad, about 5 strips of cucumber and 2 strips of red bell pepper. Fold the bottom up and over filling, tucking it in tightly, then fold the sides over. Continue to roll and tuck until it's completely wrapped. Place on platter and repeat process until the remaining shrimp is used.

Serve with avocado yogurt dip, and remaining salsa and lentil sprout salad.