Category Archives: Pulses in the News

 

Guest Chef Robin Leventhal: Summertime Favorite!

Eating pulses may not be top of mind post-fall and winter. But Professional Chef Robin Leventhal (Meet Robin here) is here to share one of her favorite summertime pulse recipes, perfect for those warm days. Just make sure you you dont need ac repair when the dog days of summer arrive. Take it away, Robin:

When I developed this recipe, we had been making gazpacho at the school restaurant Capstone Kitchen (at Wine Country Culinary Institute where I teach), and I had never seen a chilled lentil soup, so I thought it would be a new spin that would challenge my creativity, which is paramount when it comes to recipe development. Now you might say that making a soup with lentils is an obvious choice, but this one is different – it’s cold vs. hot and creamy vs. stew-like.

When I’m concocting a new recipe, I always start with the question “What sounds good to me right now?” For this particular soup, I asked myself that question when it was 103 degrees outside, so naturally I wanted something refreshing, satisfying and light, that wouldn’t have me sweating over the stovetop.

I then asked myself “What do I have lying around to use?” At the time, my garden was yielding tomatillos, chilies, lemon cucumbers and herbs (mint, Thai basil and cilantro) aplenty. I combined the fresh veggies with green onions, a knob of ginger that I always keep in my freezer and a can of coconut milk and created a Thai-inspired homerun!

The combination of heat from the chilies, refreshing lime, stimulating ginger and velvety coconut milk is out of this world. I hope you enjoy it!

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Chilled Lentil Ginger Lime Soup

Cook time: 20 minutes, plus time to cool

Yield: 1 ½  quarts

Recipe contributed by Chef Robin Leventhal

 

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups                  Sunrise Lentils, soaked for 15 minutes in water

2 cups                  Water

1 can                    Coconut milk

2 tablespoons     Grapeseed or canola oil

½ cup                   Shallots, minced

1 cup                    Tomatillos, chopped

1 tablespoon      Ginger, grated

1 teaspoon          Lime zest

1/8 cup                  Lime Juice

2 teaspoons        Salt

2 tablespoons     Cilantro, chopped, plus sprigs for garnish

2 slivers               Serrano chile, plus garnish

Scallions              Slivered for garnish

Cucumber            Slivered for garnish

 

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a two-quart sauce pan on medium heat, add grapeseed oil and shallots and sauté until fragrant with the salt
  2. Add ginger and toast until fragrant, about three minutes, then add water, coconut milk and lentils
  3. Simmer for 10 minutes then add chopped tomatillos, cilantro and slivered serrano chilies
  4. Cook 10 minutes more until lentils are tender and falling apart
  5. Puree with an emulsion blender and add lime zest and juice, salt as needed
  6. Serve soup chilled and garnish with cilantro sprigs, sliced cucumber, serrano chili, lime and a drizzle of coconut milk. Adjust spice, cilantro and lime to your own palate.

VARIATIONS:

-Add poached prawns

-Add shredded leftover roasted chicken

-Add crushed peanuts

-Garnish with bean sprouts or lentil sprouts

-Garnish with slivered apple, especially a tart varietal like granny smith

-Serve with cold bean thread noodles for an even more substantial meal

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Guest Chef: Robin Leventhal

 

Chef, artist and teacher Robin Leventhal sat down with us to talk about what else? Pulses! Whether she’s in a professional kitchen or at home, Robin likes to incorporate pulses for a few reasons – namely, they’re easy, versatile and economical. “Pulses have integrity,” she says.  “I treat ingredients with respect, and honor them in my cooking. Ultimately, I have to be proud of what I put my name on.”

When it comes to her favorite ways to use pulses, Robin steps outside the soup pot. And supper isn’t her preferred time to enjoy them, either. She’s a pulses-for-breakfast kind of gal, forming chickpeas into cornmeal-crusted patties topped with a gooey egg, or throwing roasted lentils into homemade granola.

Eating pulses for breakfast packs powerful protein into the most important meal of the day, she says, and tides her over to lunch. When she’s craving a salty snack, she also pulls out the pulses. “Chickpeas make a great stand-in for salty snacks. They roast beautifully, are guilt-free and last for up to a week in an airtight container,” she says. “They are crunchy little nuggets of happiness.”

More than anything, Robin says, pulses are a blank canvas – and what could be better for a food artist? “They are a quick-cooking protein source that act as a sponge for whatever direction you want to take them!”

Pro Pulse tip:

When preparing lentils, Robin soaks them for 15 minutes to awaken their enzymes, add nutritional value, eliminate gases and accelerate their cooking time significantly.

Stay tuned for a follow-up post featuring pulse recipes straight from Robin’s kitchen.

About Robin:

While studying for her master’s degree in Fine Arts, Robin took a job in the university’s catering department and fell in love with food. She went on to compete in the sixth season of Top Chef and then own and operate Crave, a popular Seattle bistro serving comfort food on Capitol Hill. With a commitment to community, Robin sits on the Slow Food Seattle board raising awareness of the value of food and knowing its origins.

For more information on Chef Robin Leventhal, visit her site www.cravefood.com.

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Gluten Free Baking 101 with Richard Coppedge

As we mentioned last week, May is Celiac Awareness Month. For folks that live with the disease, gluten-free pulse flours have super powers. And for those who don’t, pulse flours are still an excellent way to add fiber, protein and vitamins to recipes that call for traditional baking flours.

To break down the barriers to gluten-free baking at home, we spoke with Chef Richard Coppedge Jr., a distinguished baker, author and professor at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) specializing in gluten-free baking. Here’s what we learned:

 

USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council: When and why did you first start incorporating pulses and pulse flours into your recipes and lessons?

Richard Coppedge Jr.: About 14 years ago, I was charged with teaching a class on baking bread alternatives for people with specialty diets. In learning about gluten-free baking methods, I became interested in how we could improve upon the alternatives that were around at the time.

USADPLC: As a professor working with the next generation of great chefs, you have an inside look at what’s next in culinary and nutrition trends. Do you feel like the use of pulses in baking and cooking is a growing trend?

RC: Definitely. Over the past three years, gluten-free food options have flourished, appearing everywhere from culinary schools to cookbooks to retail products. And as the gluten-free movement and product selection continues to grow, we’re seeing pulses and pulse flours pop up in new places.

USADPLC: Can you give any preparation or baking tips for using pulses or pulse flours?

RC: Keep in mind that flours will maintain some of the characteristics of the pulse they come from, including color, flavor and texture. For example, if you use green pea flour in a sugar cookie recipe, don’t be surprised when your cookies come out a shade of green. Black bean or lentil flour, on the other hand, makes a great wheat flour alternative for gluten-free brownies.

Also, different flours will measure and settle differently, so for best results, invest in a kitchen scale, and use it to replace wheat flour with gluten-free blends by weight. For example, one cup of all-purpose wheat flour weighs about 140 grams. So, to replace ½ cup of the wheat flour in a recipe, you would measure out 70 grams of your alternative flour or gluten-free blend on the scale and use that amount (regardless of where it sits in a measuring cup).

USADPLC: What’s your favorite thing about working with pulses?

RC: I appreciate their versatility, but also their benefits. A lot of gluten-free baking recipes default to soy flour, but if you’re looking for gluten-, dairy- and soy-free protein, pulse products like flours or pea protein concentrates can offer that. Pulses also provide fiber and nutrients where gluten flours or other gluten-free substitutes are lacking.

USADPLC: On that note, do you have any favorite ways to use pulses or pulse flours?

RC: I love a good burger with a pulse flour bun – it’s an easy way to bring up the fiber and nutrient content in an old favorite.

 

Additional FAQs for Baking with Pulse Flours

  1. Where can I buy pulse flours?

You can buy pulse flours from dozens of providers around the U.S. Take a look at a list of providers, or check the bulk bins at your local grocery store!

  1. What are the rules for pulse flour substitutions, specifically? Can I simply swap wheat flour for pulse flours 1:1 in any recipe, or do I need to mix pulse flours with something else?

If replacing only a portion of the wheat flour in a recipe with pulse flours (to boost the nutrient content rather than make an entirely gluten-free version), you can simply swap pulse flours 1:1 for up to half of the wheat flour (remember- 1:1 by weight in grams). For an entirely gluten-free substitution, we recommend mixing even parts pulse flour, white rice flour and tapioca starch to make your gluten-free blend. Then you would replace the wheat flour called for in the recipe 1:1 (by weight) with this gluten-free blend.

  1. Does baking with pulse flours take longer?

No special treatment is required in recipes where you combine pulse flour with wheat flour, but when baking with an entirely gluten-free flour blend, leave at least 30 minutes of extra prep time to ensure workability of the dough.

Chef Richard Coppedge Jr., Certified Master Baker (CMB), is a professor at the CIA, where he teaches students about nutritional and experimental baking concepts, specializing in gluten-free baking. He is also the author of Gluten-Free Baking with the Culinary Institute of America, and has won numerous awards for his culinary contributions.

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Pulse Recipes for Carnivores: Using Pulses as a Meat Extender

You probably know by now that pulses are a great source of gluten-free, vegetarian protein. Lentils, chickpeas and split peas are no stranger to the average vegetarian’s cooking repertoire. But pulses can work just as easily with the meat in your favorite recipes as they can be used to replace it. And, a recent study shows that adding pulses to your diet can nix some of the health risks of a diet high in red meat.

Since February is American Heart Month, we wanted to share some of our favorite recipes where pulses work as a meat substitute or a meat extender. By swapping a portion of the meat in a recipe, you get the same meal you love, but cut back on the sodium, cholesterol and fat for a heart-healthier alternative!

Cheesy Lentil Marinara Meatballs

Follow this recipe for vegetarian “meatballs,” or substitute half the meat in any traditional meatball recipe with the vegetable mixture shown here.

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Santa Fe Burritos with Fresh Salsa

The spicy lentil puree that fills these burritos can serve as a meat substitute, or mix it with beef, chicken or pork for a healthier take on your favorite burritos.

4

Northwest Chili

Our hearty Northwest Chili can be a filling vegetarian comfort-food, or add the meat of your choice to the mix for a healthier twist on this cold-weather classic.

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Herbed Goat Cheese and Chickpea Crepes from The Culinary Institute of America

There are many misperceptions about pulses out there. One, that they don’t have any place outside the soup or hummus bowl. Or two, that because of their availability/affordability at the bulk food bins, you won’t find pulses or pulse products in fine culinary cuisine. Or three, that preparing a dish with pulse products requires overnight prep and hours of cook time. In one recipe, Chef Lars Kronmark (meet him here), a chef-instructor at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), shatters all three of those misperceptions.

 

Pro Pulse Tip from Lars: Don’t be afraid to use pulses in new shapes and new ways. In my courses at The CIA, I use pulses everywhere from soups to sauces, to lentils as a crepe filling ingredient or pulse flours making up the crepe itself. There is a great texture element in pulses, and they can carry or complement the flavors of almost any dish – making them one of my favorite ingredients to experiment with.

 

Napa Chard and Herbed Crepes with Goat Cheese and Confit of Olives and Peppers

Makes: 16 Crepes (2 oz. ea.)

Serves 6-8

 

Ingredients

Crepes:

6 Eggs

1 1/3 cup milk

1 ½ cup water

2 cups pea and lentil flour

4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

 

Filling/Topping:

3 tbsp. chopped herbs (chives, parsley, tarragon, etc.), OR fresh Swiss chard, fine cut

1 tsp. garlic, minced

4 oz. goat cheese

2 roasted red peppers, diced

2 oz. minced small olives

3 oz. extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Procedure

Combine crepe ingredients in a blender and blend for about 45 seconds (scraping down sides of blender with a spatula or spoon). Let rest for 15 minutes. Lightly oil a very hot non-stick pan or crepe pan and swirl 2 ounces of batter around pan to distribute. Cook for about 10-15 seconds, then carefully flip crepe over and cook for another 5 seconds or so. Stack crepes onto a plate and set aside.

 

Spread room temperature goat cheese onto crepes, sprinkle with herbs and roll or fold.

 

Heat extra virgin olive oil with roasted peppers for 2-3 min. Add olives and season with salt and pepper.

 

Top crepes with pepper and olive confit and serve. Take care when plating, as crepes will be very tender.

 

Photo sourced from here.

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Pulses’ Appeal in the Culinary World (with Chef Lars Kronmark)

Think peas, lentils and other pulses are one-trick ponies? Think again. We had the pleasure of speaking with Chef Lars Kronmark, an award-winning chef and instructor at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) Greystone, about how pulses are a staple throughout his recipe repertoire.

 

Pulses, Lars says, are a big part of his coursework. “The CIA has recipes filed by category – and you can flip through and find pulses in almost every one. The soup category, of course, but also purees and bases, sauces and reductions, fillings, sides, and main courses in regions like Europe, the Mediterranean and India.”

 

The popularity of pulses throughout the world and different culinary categories has a lot to do with their versatility. There are two essential culinary purposes of starches, Lars says, and pulses fulfill them both. “Pulses are carriers of flavor, and can also soften flavors that might be too harsh on their own.”

 

A lentil and leek puree, for example, can serve as a base for a spicy crusted duck breast to help moderate the richness of the duck and the heat of the spices. Or, Lars tells us, pulses can be used to carry the particular flavor you want, rather than soften it.

 

“You can take the same chickpea fritter and prepare it with roasted garden vegetables as an appetizer, with cured pork as an entrée or with a fruit compote as a dessert – it’s like a blank canvas.” And don’t worry, Lars isn’t just rattling off imaginary dishes; his St. Croix pork fritter, which can be made with chickpea flour, was the star and winning dish of the 2012 Napa Valley Cochon 555, a highly regarded mobile cooking competition.

 

Stay tuned – Although we can’t share Lars’ award-winning St. Croix fritter recipe (that’s a secret!), next week Lars will share another mouthwatering recipe right out of his kitchen at The Culinary Institute of America.

 

About Lars Kronmark

Chef Lars Kronmark is an award-winning Chef-Instructor at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) Greystone campus in St. Helena, Ca. Originally from Denmark, Kronmark was hand-picked by some of the finest culinary educators in the U.S. to open the school in 1995. Today, he is renowned for mastery of both his native Scandinavian fare and contemporary American cuisine. Kronmark is also recognized as a Certified Wine Professional, and instructs wine-related cooking and food pairing classes. 2

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