Autumn Dinner: Umbrian Lentil Stew, Salmon, & a Raspberry Salad (recipe)

Since returning from Vietnam, where the cuisine contains very little wheat and dairy, I have been trying to expand beyond my typical go-to dinners (some variety of pasta, with a side of bread) and have tried to think more consciously about the types of carbohydrates and side dishes in the meals I make. Don't get me wrong, I still love my homemade spaghetti and warm, rustic bread, but I want every part of the meal to be a conscious choice. This week I assigned myself a project. I decided to strive for maximum variety, and make sure the protein, carb, and veggies in each meal were unique, so that every single dinner this week was completely different. We had Israeli Cous Cous with fennel sausage and spinach in tomato sauce one night, a huge chef salad with various nuts, olives, hard boiled eggs, and blue cheese was another evening's dinner, and I followed that up with some long grain wild rice with lemon pepper cod and Greek salad. (Ok, ok, so the salads are a little repetitive- but organic greens have been on sale, and I've been using a different variety of lettuce or greens each night, and also a different dressing and additional fixings with each meal).

For tonight's dinner I bought some fresh, wild Sockeye Salmon from our market, and decide to try making lentils to serve along side. I bought a half-kilo (a little over one pound) of Umbrian Lentils- a tiny, multi-colored variety known for being smooth and light texture and flavor. They are grown organically in a traditional crop rotation schedule in the hills of Northern Italy. Aside from the unique yellow lentils in Ethiopian food, my last encounter with lentils was during my early childhood, and I really hated them. I remember the texture being mushy and terrible. This recipe was a nice surprise for me. Chris and I both enjoyed them, especially as a compliment to the salmon, and I will definitely try a variety of this dish again.

Lentil Stew

Ingredients

olive oil
1/4 C (1-2 slices) organic turkey bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 carrot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 large sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
all leaves from 3-4 large sprigs thyme
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tomato, chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 lb lentils
2-3 C chicken stock
salt and pepper

Step 1: Heat olive oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add diced turkey bacon.
(Traditionally this type of dish would call for pancetta. I don't eat pork, so I substitute turkey bacon. It is actually pretty darn close in flavor to real bacon. It is leaner and cooks to be crispier, which I like, and it is available in an organic, no nitrate added variety.) As the meat begins to brown, add diced vegetables (except tomato) and herbs. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, until very fragrant and vegetables are just starting to cook and soften.

Step 2: Add in tomato, cook for one minute more.

Step 3: Add in lentils, and stock. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until lentils are cooked and just a bit soft, but still retain some bite. As lentil cook, you may need to add a little more stock. There should be a bit more liquid than lentils.

Step 4: Plate a large scoop of lentil stew, pair with salmon and salad.

Notes/ Varieties:
If serving as a whole meal, consider adding some extra turkey bacon and some mushrooms to round out the meal. Vegetarian version- Substitute mushrooms for bacon. Add extra tomato and vegetables. A similar, traditional Unbrian lentil dish is served with fried eggs on top.

Salmon

Ingredients
1 lb fillet of fresh salmon
lemon (juice)
salt
lemon pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
3 medium tomatoes, chopped

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking dish with foil (I love recycled aluminum foil!), and place fish in dish with skin side down.

Step 2: Squeeze the juice from half of a lemon over the fish, then season with salt and lemon pepper. Chop 2 Tablespoons butter into small pats, and place them all over the top of the salmon fillet. Cover and surround fish with chopped tomatoes.

Step 3: Cook for 10-20 minutes (depending on thickness of fish), watch closely to make sure fish does not over cook.

Step 4: Plate alongside lentils and salad, serve and enjoy!

Salad

Ingredients

1 part organic raspberries
2 parts fresh seasonal greens (spinache, arugala, dandylion, butter lettuce, etc)
a light drizzle of balsamic vinagrette

Step 1: Combine ingredients in a bowl, toss together. Serve alongside lentils and salmon.

Saturday Morning Coffee Cake with Raspberries (recipe)

I made this recipe up in an attempt to create a coffee cake that would stay very moist and spongy, have lots of crumbly topping, and serve as a complete meal. This coffee cake is by no means health food, but by incorperating lots of natural yogurt and fresh raspberries it is more nutritional than traditional coffee cake. See the end note for variations.

Ingredients:

3 1/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups yogurt
(I like Stonyfield farms organic, low fat yogurt in either plain or vanilla flavor. It is the best yogurt you will ever eat, and is more healthful and cow-friendly than other varieties.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries



Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan, and set aside.

Step 2: Prepare streusel. In a small bowl combine 1 stick butter (8Tbl) melted, 1 cup flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp salt. Use a fork, and stir ingredients together until crumbly. Pea sized balls of streusel should form. Set aside.


Step 2: Mix dry ingredients for coffee cake. In a small bowl stir together 2 1/3 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt. Set aside.

Step 3: Mix together wet ingredients for coffee cake. In a small bowl, or in a large measuring cup, Stir together 1 1/2 cups yogurt and 1 tsp vanilla extract. set aside.

Step 4: In a mixer bowl combine 1/2 stick butter (4Tbl) softened, and 1 cup sugar. Beat on high speed, until very fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time.

Step 4: Add wet and dry ingredients into mixer slowly. First add half of dry ingredients, then half of yogurt mixture, then add the second half of the dry ingredients and second half of the yogurt mixture. Mix well after each addition.

Step 5: Gently stir in 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries, and 1/2 of streusel mixture with a spatula. These ingredients should be distributed evenly through batter, but berries and streusel crumbles should remain mostly intact.


Step 6: Pour batter into the greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Use a spatula to smooth batter and make sure it is evenly distributed across pan. Sprinkly remaining streusel over the top of the cake.

Step 7: Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until cake is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Step 8: Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm, with favorite French pressed coffee. Enjoy!


Variations: Nuts, especially almonds or diced walnuts, can be added to the streusel topping. Raspberries can be omitted, or traded for any other fresh berries.