Lentejas de Mi Madre

Beluga Lentils with Grilled Romaine

When we got lucky and my mom had enough grocery money to buy a chicken—one bird for the fifteen of us—she would make a big pot of lentil stew to go with it. Lentils aren’t native to South America, but they are so affordable, filling, and tasty, they have become very popular in Peru. The little bits of chicken (when dispersed among the whole family) would become el adorno, as we called it, on top of the stew, like the pretty little garnishes you get at high-end restaurants. We loved every bite.

Beluga lentils are tiny and tasty like the caviar they are named after, so they seemed a fitting tribute to my mom’s lentils. You can use any variety of lentils; just adjust the cooking time according to the package (some lentils cook very quickly), and dice all of the vegetables very finely so they disappear into the lentils. Stirring a few tablespoons of plain Greek-style yogurt into the lentils just before you serve them lends a subtle tanginess that I really like, but you can skip the yogurt and Parmesan cheese to make the dish vegan. The grilled romaine is my own adorno.

If not serving the lentils right away, strain out the hot broth and allow them to each cool completely (so the lentils don’t become mushy), then return the lentils to the broth. For a more substantial version, add leftover roasted chicken or sliced, cooked link sausages.

• ¼ cup olive oil, plus more as needed
• ½ medium red onion, very finely chopped
• ½ large stalk celery, very finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, very finely chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons Salsa Madre (see page 196)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 leafy sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 (15- to 16-ounce) bag beluga lentils (about 2 cups), rinsed
• 7 cups homemade chicken or vegetable stock (see page 40), low-sodium store-bought broth, or water
• Kosher salt
• 6 to 8 heads baby romaine lettuce, or 2 or 3 large heads romaine
• 3 to 4 tablespoons plain Greek-style yogurt, or to taste
• Parmesan, for grating

1 Heat a nice drizzle of olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of a medium Dutch oven or pot (2 to 3 tablespoons), over medium-high heat until hot, a good 2 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes, then add the salsa madre and sauté, stirring continuously until the sauce smells aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the bay leaf and thyme, then add the lentils and stock. Bring the stock to a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook the lentils for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste and continue to simmer until the lentils are tender, 5 to 10 minutes more.

2 While the lentils are cooking, prepare a regular or hibachi grill for direct, high-heat cooking. Halve the whole heads of romaine lengthwise and blot them dry with paper towels. Brush the leaves lightly with olive oil and grill the lettuce, cut-side down, until charred and just beginning to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and grill the opposite sides until the leaves are charred in spots, usually just a few seconds longer. Don’t overcook the lettuce or it won’t hold its shape. (If using large heads of romaine, you may want to coarsely chop the lettuce after it is grilled.)

3 Drain the lentils, reserving the cooking liquid. Stir in enough of the cooking liquid to just moisten the lentils, then stir in the yogurt. Season the lentils with more salt, if you’d like, and pile them into a large serving bowl or on individual plates. Top each with a few grilled romaine leaves, sprinkle the Parmesan generously over the top, and serve. If not serving right away, let the lentils and reserved stock cool completely. Return the lentils to the cooled stock, cover, and refrigerate for up to 5 days.