So, I cooked lentils for the first time the other night. I like to think that Ryan and I eat pretty well, but unfortunately that doesn't necessarily mean we eat healthfully (what can I say, I like butter. and cheese. and potatoes. and pasta. mmmmmm). I was a picky eater and notorious vegetable hater for much of my life (which made the seven years I was a vegetarian a bit tricky!), and over the past few years I've been trying to make a conscious effort to eat more and a greater variety of vegetables. So Wednesday night, in a fit of adventurous optimism, I decided to make this recipe for Sausage and Lentils with Fennel. The lentils smelled a little healthy as I was cooking them, but I pressed on. It looked okay when I was done with it:

And the flavors were a good, interesting mix. But I only made it through a few bites before I had to admit defeat. I think there were just too many different textures for my delicate palate: the oily, crumbly sausage, the soft sauteed vegetables, the tender-but-not-mushy lentils…but I think what really did it were the dry, feathery fennel fronds sprinkled on top. They were just too much for me.

But I was still hungry. So, I did the only logical thing—I made brownies.

Brownies

4 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp instant espresso powder (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 Tbs cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour an 8x8inch pan. Break the chocolate up and put in a medium-sized microwave safe bowl. Cut butter into pieces and add to chocolate. Microwave in thirty-second increments, stirring between each, for about a minute and a half. The butter should be completely melted, but there should still be visible pieces of chocolate; stir until the hot butter has melted all the chocolate and the mixture is uniform. Add espresso powder, vanilla, and brown sugar and stir well. Add eggs and mix until incorporated. Add cocoa powder (you might want to sift it), flour, salt, and baking powder and stir gently until all are incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Or, if you're like me, allow to cool for about three minutes and then scoop hot brownie over a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmm.

Comments

[katia]

for some reason i thought you made brownies using lentils. ew.

[Annmarie]

For what its worth, I prefer the pink masoor lentils to the french green ones. Maybe it is just the fantastic yellow color they turn when cooked, but something about them is vastly more appetizing to me. Good luck with the vegetables!

[shannon]

Hmm, perhaps I'll try those next (the masoor lentils that is) -- if you have a favorite recipe for them, email me!