nouveaux lentils and further adventures in flatbread

as much as i love my lentils (and my roommate does call me "lentil queen"), i've gotten sick of my usual curried-ish tomato-ish lentil recipe that i've relied on for most of the winter. so, i was understandably psyched when a friend sent me a lentil recipe that relies on winter greens and fresh herbs for a new take on this particular staple. i made some changes from the original to suit my taste, so it's still pretty spice heavy, but during a new england march, when you've pretty much run out of patience with winter, scenic snow-scapes or not, trust me, the this fresh-herb dependent recipe can make all the difference....

nouveaux lentils
chop one large onion, and sautee in a large saucepan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
when the onion gets soft, add two minced cloves of garlic and some powdered ginger and cumin, as well as about a cup and a quarter of lentils.
mix together and add enough vegetable stock to cover the lentils with room to spare.
cover and cook until the lentils are tender, adding more stock as necessary.
throw in a generous amount (1/4 lb? 1/3 lb?) of kale (or any winter green...the recipe called for spinach, i used kale, and chard would probably work as well, besides adding nice color) with a little extra stock or water, and wilt the greens.
add red pepper, black pepper, salt, and more ginger and cumin if necessary, to taste.
when everything else is satisfactory, mix in a double handful, equal parts chopped mint and cilantro. serve with a dollop of yogurt.

first attempt at naan
so i've already blogged my shot at foccacia, and the naan i made tonight is really similar, just with more fat, and different seasoning.
mix 1 packet yeast and 2 tsps honey.
add 3/4 cup warm (~110F) water to activate yeast, and leave covered for 5-10minutes, until frothy.
mix together 2tsps salt and 1 1/2 cups flour, and 2 cloves minced garlic.
add yeasty/honied water, along with 1/4 cup ghee and 3 generous tbsps greek yogurt.
mix, then knead, adding flour as needed to get to an elastic and not impossibly sticky dough.
oil a bowl and the dough, and cover. leave to rise to double its size (~1 hour).
punch down dough, remove from bowl.
preheat oven to 400F.
divide dough into 10 pieces, roll out, and place on oiled baking sheet.
cook until golden, flipping halfway through.
remove, glaze with more ghee, and serve.

just to go along with the theme, i decided to try a new beer:
otter creek brewery isn't my favorite (their copper ale tastes like a trip to the dentist), but, given the theme of my dinner, i couldn't resist trying their "world tour: sphinx" which is an "egyptian multigrain ale bewed with chamomile and honey". it very much tastes like if you were to make a beer out of a mug of chamomile tea with lemon and honey. it's actually not bad...unique, if likely to offend purists. on the other hand, it pairs pretty well with the spice/mint of the lentils and the buttery naan....and maybe more importantly, it's $2 for a 1pt 6oz bottle...so enjoy!