Chicago Metallic Winged Baking Sheet Giveaway

Hey readers!

Another sponsor of the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council blogger contest, Chicago Metallic, is also hosting a giveaway. If you remember from an earlier post, I received a nice Chicago Metallic Great America Bake Sale Winged Cookie Sheet along with cupcake liners. The nonstick cookie sheet features winged sides to make transferring to and from the oven easier, and a bumped rim to prevent baked good slide offs. The pan retails at $19.99. A portion of each sale is donated to Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale.

There are two ways to enter the giveaway, each giving you a separate entry:

• Comment on this post, telling what you'd bake on the cookie sheet


• Tweet about this giveaway, linking back to this post and adding @RunningFoodie, and comment again to let me know

Giveaway ends noon on Friday. Good luck!

Roasted Lentil Gravy with Prune Stuffed Pork Loin + Le Creuset Giveaway

My third recipe for the USA Dry Pea & Lentil contest is a savory lentil gravy. The lentils are roasted in the oven along with a prune stuffed pork loin. I've had a similar pork loin for Christmas from a Lidia Bastianich recipe, and knew the flavor of the prunes would pair well with the lentils.

Pardina lentils, along with carrots, onion, garlic, and baby portobello mushrooms are added to the bottom of a roasting pan with chicken broth. As the pork loin cooks, the juices infuse the lentils with more flavor. After the pork finishes cooking, taking about an hour and a half, the perfectly cooked lentils are pureed and added to a roux made from butter and sweet rice flour. The puree is thinned with a little chardonnay and more chicken broth, and served with slices of pork loin for a tasty and unique take on a traditional Sunday roast and gravy dinner.

Recipe after the jump.

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Le Creuset Giveaway

Le Creuset, one of the sponsors of the contest, gave another Farm Fresh Stainless Steel Steamer Pan to giveaway to one of my readers. The pot is really nice to cook in, as I've had the pleasure of doing, and I'm sure you'll like it, too. The pot retails at $185 so you're getting a pretty nice treat if you win.

There are two ways to enter:

• Leave a comment on my blog telling me what your favorite lentil recipe of mine has been so far (between the gorditas, chocolate cake, and this one)


• Tweet about this giveaway, linking to this post and adding @runningfoodie. Comment again to let me know.

Giveaway is open to US residents only due to shipping costs. Contest ends at noon this Friday. Good luck!

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Lentil Gravy with Prune Stuffed Pork Loin

ingredients -

9 ounces pitted prunes
1/2 cup orange juice
5 cloves garlic, sliced
3 pound boneless pork loin
1 tablespoon Belgian style mustard
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
sprinkle of black pepper
3/4 cup USA dry pardina lentils, rinsed
8 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, chopped
2/3 cup white onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup carrot, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3-4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoon sweet rice flour
1/4 cup chardonnay

directions -

1. Pour orange juice over prunes and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour.


2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice a deep pocket on the side of the pork loin, reaching to the center. Don't slice through the ends, like a sub. Stuff the pork loin with the prunes and sliced garlic, leaving 4-5 prunes out. Tie the pork loin with kitchen twine to keep the filling in place as it cooks. Place in roasting pan. Combine the mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper and spread on the top and sides of the pork loin.


3. Roast for 15 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 400. Add lentils, vegetables, remaining prunes and soaking liquid to bottom of pan along with 1 cup chicken broth. Cook for another 25 minutes. Continue cooking for another 30-50 minutes, until the pork registers 160 on an instant read thermometer and the lentils are tender. Add more chicken broth throughout the cooking time to keep the lentils moist. Taste the lentils throughout to check on the tenderness.


4. Remove pork loin from the pan onto a platter and cover with foil to rest. Scrape the lentils and broth into a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add additional chicken broth if needed. You should have about 2 cups. If not, pour in more chicken broth.


5. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in rice flour and stir for 30 seconds. Add chardonnay and whisk for 30 seconds. Add lentil puree and 1 cup chicken broth. Stir to blend and simmer until heated through. Push lentil gravy through a fine mesh sieve before serving.


6. Slice pork loin into 1/4 inch slices and serve with gravy.

gluten free chocolate-raspberry cake

This is my second recipe for the Lentil Contest. I wanted to test myself by creating all kinds of recipe with lentils, not just traditional types. One idea I had was to add a lentil puree to baked goods. Yes, I realize this may sound off-putting, but the lentils blend right in and are rendered tasteless, especially against the strong flavor of the chocolate. You simply end up with a healthier cake than other recipes.

Start by making a lentil puree. I chose decorticated red lentils, which are lentils with their outer skins removed. They are quicker to cook and have a more neutral flavor. I chose the red lentils because they cook into a yellow hue, making it easier to blend into baked goods without changing the color much. However, this is a chocolate cake, so feel free to use any lentil variety available (as long as it's not pardina).

You're looking for the lentils to be translucent. If the centers still looked colored, they aren't cooked through.

Finally, the lentils are pureed until smooth. The finished consistency will be that of a pumpkin puree.

I made this cake in the manner of a mousse cake. There is no leavening; rather, the cake gets its lift from the air beaten into the egg yolks, and the beaten egg whites that are folded in at the end. I used sweet rice flour for the binding, which is made from sticky rice. It has a high starch content that's good for thickening sauces and desserts. Sweet rice flour can be found in the Asian section of your grocery store. It can also be subbed out with all-purpose flour if you don't have a gluten allergy.

This is the batter after the lentil puree has been added. It looks exactly like a lentil-less cake, and tastes just like it, too. Only with this version you get more fiber, protein, and iron. Aren't lentils great?

Once the egg whites are folded in and the batter poured into the prepared pan, smashed raspberries are swirled on top. After the cake is baked, the center will still be quite soft. This type of cake isn't baked thoroughly so that the center stays fudgy. This requires a rest time of at least 2 hours. It's a good cake to make ahead of time. You could probably even refrigerate the cake once cooled to room temperature, too.

I admit that I had a little trouble with this cake. The first time I made it, it was delicious taste-wise, but I didn't adjust cooking temperature to account for the density the lentils would add, and it didn't quite set enough. So, to get it right, I made it again, this time lowering the oven temperature and cooking it a little longer. I also let the cake set for a few hours, which helped the cake hold up, making it easier to slice. Practice makes perfect, and it also means more cake!

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Gluten Free Chocolate-Raspberry Cake
Recipe by Christina Provo

Ingredients -

1 cup USA dry decorticated lentils
1 stick butter, melted
12 ounces chocolate chips, melted
6 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweet rice powder
1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8-inch spring form pan and dust with cocoa powder. In a medium size pot, add lentils and 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 12-20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree until smooth. Measure out 2/3 cup lentil puree, reserving remaining puree for another use.


2. To prepare the raspberries, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon water; smash with a fork until smooth. Set aside. If still frozen, microwave raspberries in a bowl with 1 teaspoon of water for 15 seconds. Add the sugar and mash.


3. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; set aside. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick on medium high speed, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually pour in sugar, espresso powder, and salt and beat for another minute. To the egg yolks, add melted butter, melted chocolate, lentil puree, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Fold in rice flour, mixing just until combined. Stir in 1/3 of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Gently fold in remaining egg whites, just until blended. Some streaks may remain.


4. Pour into prepared pan. Dollop top of cake with mashed raspberries; swirl with a butter knife. Place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Sides will be set but center will jiggle a little. A skewer inserted in the center will have moist crumbs. Let cool before slicing. Serve with whipped cream and additional raspberries.