For most folks, the Incredibly Delicious bakery means world-class croissants, artisinal breads, beautiful pastries and cakes and lovely lunches served in a gorgeous historic mansion. As a friend recently said, “I certainly hope Springfield realizes what a treasure we have in him (master baker, chef, and owner Patrick Groth).”
I absolutely agree. And there’s more. Groth also sells a few non-bakery specialty items. Quality olive oils and vinegars predominate, but there are also unique, sometimes surprising, items.
Recently I could hardly believe my eyes when I spied bags of small greenish-grey discs. “You’ve got French lentils!” I exclaimed to Groth, as he hurried by, holding aloft a tray of intoxicatingly fragrant baked goods.
The French part wasn’t surprising. Groth graduated from the French Culinary Institute, and is a dedicated Francophile.
Even so, French lentils, a.k.a. lentils Le Puy can be hard to find in big American cities, let alone in Springfield. Whole Foods grocery stores, for example, don’t carry them. For years, procuring them took real effort.
Thanks to the Internet, though, it’s easier these days. Why make such a big deal about lentils? For decades most Americans’ only acquaintance with lentils was in soup, often tasty, but hardly exciting. Then in the ’60s and ’70s, books such as Francis Moore Lappé’s Diet for a Small Planet extolled lentils’ many nutritious virtues. Unfortunately, in most of those health-conscious tomes, taste wasn’t a consideration.
As former New York Times food critic and current Gourmet magazine editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl says in her memoir, Tender at the Bone, “The recipes were nutritious, politically correct….and dreary.” Lentils were boring.
Americans’ ever-widening appreciation for ethnic foods began to change lentils’ reputation — especially in Indian cuisine. Indians are the largest consumers of lentils (daal), typically eating them at least once daily. The variety of Indian lentils ranges from yellow to red to black, but like traditional brown lentils, they rapidly disintegrate — becoming effectually puréed — when cooked, limiting their uses to such dishes as soups and stews. When cooked to a denser mass, they’re often used, singly or in combination with other ingredients, as meat substitutes beloved by vegetarians. Le Puy lentils, the tiny black lentils called Beluga (named because they resemble Beluga caviar) and Spanish Partinas lentils, are different. Because they keep their shape when completely cooked (unless seriously over-boiled), these lentils can be used in ways the others can’t. All lentils are highly nutritious, and good sources of protein. Belugas are especially (24 percent) protein-rich. Another advantage is that, unlike beans or other legumes, they don’t have to be presoaked, and only take about 15 minutes, making them ideal for a quick meal. And, I almost forgot to mention, they not only provide great and intriguing texture, but also wonderful flavor.
I’ll still purchase Beluga lentils on the Internet at sites such as www.chefshop.com and Partinas lentils at Spanish food sites such as www.tienda.com. But none of those Web sites can provide me with an incentive to buy their Le Puy lentils that Incredibly Delicious offers: a perfect excuse to snag one of those croissants!
Contact Julianne Glatz and [email protected].
