Umbrian Lentils from Castelluccio-Lentils with Roasted Tomatoes

I was never a huge fan of lentils before I lived in Italy. Too many times, I was the victim of mushy, chalky lentil soups and stews. Then I was introduced to lenticchie di Castelluccio and everything changed. These small greenish-brown lentils grow on the high plains of Castelluccio in Umbria at an altitude of 4600 ft. I love these lentils because they hold their shape after cooking. They are so tender as to not require pre-soaking and cook up in a mere 30 minutes.  

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This recipe for Lentils with Roasted Tomatoes has been adapted from the cookbook Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. This cookbook does a fabulous job of sharing recipes for veg and grains with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flair. I served the dish at room temperature as a vegetarian main course, and I could certainly see myself eating something similar in Umbria.

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We start by making roasted tomatoes. I was so thrilled with how these came out; I’m sure I’ll be making them many more times in the future to garnish dishes other than this one. They would also be great on an antipasto plate surrounded by salumi and cheeses, or even as a side to a nice grilled steak. Just be sure to give yourself enough time to make them. They need 1 ½ hours to bake. Next time, I’ll make more than I need. For this recipe, you need:

5 plum tomatoes
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Fresh thyme sprigs
Salt
Preheat the oven to 275 and let’s get started:

Simply slice the plum tomatoes lengthwise into quarters.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the tomato quarters on it, skin side down. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil over the tomatoes and follow that with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle some salt over everything and group the tomatoes so you can lay fresh sprigs of thyme over several slices at a time. Pop the pan into the oven and set your timer for 1 ½ hours. You have time for a glass of wine now. 

When they are done, pick off the thyme and discard. Some of the small thyme leaves will have fallen off onto your tomatoes…that’s a good thing, don’t worry about it. Just leave the pan on the stove top to cool.

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While the tomatoes are roasting, you can take your time with the rest of the dish. The salad will need some marinated red onions, so very thinly slice a small red onion and place it in a large bowl with a tablespoon or two of red wine vinegar and a sprinkle of good sea salt. Set it aside.

Set a pan of water to boil on the stove. Here are the ingredients we need to finish up:
1 1/3 cups lentils from Castelluccio
3 T. good olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Black pepper
1 T dried dill (or 4T fresh)
Fresh basil, thinly sliced
3 oz. sweet gorgonzola, crumbled

Place the lentils in the pan of boiling water, and simmer for about 30 minutes, until tender.
Drain well in a colander, and while still warm, add to the large bowl with the marinated red onions.

Add the olive oil, minced garlic, and black pepper. Mix gently and set aside to cool a bit. 

Once it has cooled to room termperature, you can add the fresh herbs. The original recipe called for chopped parsley and chives and fresh dill, which I didn’t happen to have on hand, but if you do, toss those in as well. I simply added some dry dill and fresh basil. Mix gently.

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Now that all your components are done, you just have to build the salad. I served this in individual pasta bowls. Place a large scoop of the lentil mixture in a bowl. Lay on a couple of tomatoes and a few crumbles of Gorgonzola cheese. I topped that with some more lentils and garnished with more tomatoes and gorgonzola. Composing it this way keeps the Gorgonzola crumbles in nice pieces, and keeps the tomato slices whole and delicious looking. Don’t you dare throw out the parchment paper without drizzling all that luscious olive oil, balsamic vinegar and tomato juice over the whole salad.I was so pleased with this main dish “salad”. Served at room temperature, the lentils were firm yet tender. The red onions having soaked first, were sweet, not bitter. The Gorgonzola and roasted tomatoes really give a great one-two punch of flavor.

Castelluccio lentils can be found at a good Italian grocer or importer of fine foods. Can’t find them in your area? Then come shopping with me in Italy! I’ll show you just where to pick some up. Book a tour now at www.bellagiornatatours.com.