I fail at simmering

[ellarien]

Saturday's attempt at lentils -- 3/4 cup in a cup and a half of water, plus a tomato, a crushed clove of garlic and half a green pepper -- was only a qualified success; they were dry and sticking to the bottom of the pan before the time was up, and the veggies were overcooked. The last serving of the batch I made into a sort of microwave casserole with the last of a package of Trader Joe's tomato soup, which worked out pretty well, but they weren't particularly inspiring otherwise. So this time I decided to double the quantity of green pepper and tomato, but put them in halfway through. When the timer went off after fifteen minutes, the lentils were already dry and sticking to the bottom of the pan. I added more water and the veggies, and an extra shake of ground oregano and black pepper, and brought it all back to the boil, then turned the flame down as low as it would go. We'll see how that goes.

Maybe I need a heavier pan. Or a smaller one? This is the second-biggest, about nine inches across, and a cup-and-a-half of water doesn't come very deep.

Comments

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

Are you using red, brown, or green lentils? The ratio of lentils to water should be 2:5 (so 1 cup lentils to 2 1/2 cups of water or 1/2 cup to 1 1/4 cup; it looks like your 3/4 cup in 1 1/2 cup of water might not have had quite enough liquid). I generally cook lentils covered, so that they don't get dry; if they look to be getting dry when I peek, I'll add extra water or some white wine or stock.

I like lentils a lot with garlic, maybe some onion (sautéd in some oil in the pot before I put the lentils and water in), a bay leaf, and chopped tomato, with a handful of chopped spinach thrown in at the last moment before I turn the heat off. I add salt, pepper, and anything else that strikes my fancy.

Another thing I used to do with red lentils was to add them to Knorr packaged veggie soup (the thick kind), with some additional chopped veggies (carrots, potato, maybe some broccoli), and extra liquid. It made kind of a lentilly, veggie porridge that was pretty satisfying.

[ellarien]

The package just says lentils, and they were the only ones I could find. (Not-great grocery store in the Southwest; lots of beans, but not much in the way of lentils). They're a sort of browny-green color. The two-to-one ratio is also on the package, but you're right that it doesn't seem to be quite enough, even cooking them covered.

I may try adding onions to the repertoire eventually. My mother and sister can't digest them, so they didn't feature much in the food I grew up with.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Maybe I need a heavier pan. Or a smaller one?

...or just spend more time with them, so that you can add water before they go dry and start to stick?

My favourite lentil-base starts with sizzling onion in olive oil, then added sliced carrots, celery, garlic, red pepper; then the lentils (usually Puy, for flavour and the way they hold together without going to mush) and stock or water. I don't measure, but I check on them every five minutes or so, and add water when necessary.

[ellarien]

I'm sure you're right. As usual, I was trying to do at least three things at once.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Yup, 'tis ever thus. The trick is to think of cooking as meditation, or yoga, or something otherwise relaxing and pleasant that you need to be single-minded about. Timers and such are all very well, but nothing beats presence in the kitchen.