A little bit of History…
It all started one fine day when Isaac's older
son, Esau (a redhead), returned home after a long, hard day
of hunting in the fields. His brother, Jacob, greeted him with the tantalizing
smell of freshly cooked lentil stew. Esau, obviously ravenous from all the hunting demanded a bowl of “that red stuff” or in Hebrew terms “האדום הזה" . Being the smart brother, Jacob sneakily
bargained a bowl of soup for Esaus birthright. Now, I don’t know about you –
but if I was starving, and all I had to do was give up my birthright in return
for some food, I wouldn’t think twice.
On a side note, we can learn a lesson here – in times of hunger, people
will do anything for food. Either that, or it was some damn, good lentil soup.
I wonder what magic ingredients Jacob used in that soup.
So, Esau got his bread and lentil stew, while
Jacob received the rights of the first born. In those days, the birthright was
a huge deal. The family name was passed along to the eldest son along with most
of the family’s inheritance. In this case, it was particularly a big deal,
because it meant Jacob was continuing the lineage of Abraham, who happens to be
a pretty important guy in history.
There is also the theory that Jacob cooked the red lentil soup for
his father, Isaac, who was mourning the death of his father, Abraham. The
lentil symbolizes mourning because of its round shape. Just like the lentil
rolls, death and mourning constantly roll among men, from one to the
other. (I’m not so sure I like this analogy).
A Spot of Nutrition…
Maybe it was the
all encompassing smell that seduced Esau to swap the lentil soup for his
birthright, or maybe it was the exceptional nutritional qualities that the
lentil has to offer. I doubt it, but it's time the lentil
comes out of the nutritional closet it’s been hiding in for all these years.
To start with, lentils are cheap, easy to
prepare and absorb the flavour of anything they’re put with. They’re extremely
high in fibre (16g per 1 cup), which is great for keeping you full for a long
time and maintaining a healthy digestive system. They also prevent blood sugar
levels from rising rapidly after a meal and at the same time, are really high
in protein. After soybeans and hemp, they contain the most protein out of any
nut or legume. Perfect for any vegetarians. They’re virtually fat free, making them relatively low in
calories/energy (1 cup of cooked lentils have 230 calories). There's more! This tiny, nutritional giant is rich in other nutrients like iron,
magnesium, folate and vitamin B6.
And so, the humble lentil has made it's way up
the foodie ladder from the early biblical days, to showing up in modern day
veggie cuisine (the much loved lentil burger) and finally making a star
appearance in one of my favourite YouTube clips by marcel the shell:
Quote: “Guess what I wear as a hat? (what?) A
lentil.”
There is also an excellent non profit, vegetarian eaterie in Melbourne, called Lentil as anything, where customers can give however much money they think the food is worth.
Well done Mr. Lentil, well done.
Handy tip: when cooking lentils, remember to
wash and soak them before.
There are many versions of lentil soup, both
red and green – but here is a recipe that a friend of mine created. It
seriously has magic powers, eat it – and you will feel full for hours and
hours.
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