Red Lentil Ragout

A cure for hiccups

A few weeks ago, Husband started to hiccup. I suggested a glass of water. He said he tried that. I told him to hold his breath. The hiccups continued the rest of the day and into the night. We tried every home remedy you are thinking of right now. The hiccups continued the next day. He couldn’t talk, he couldn’t eat, he couldn’t sleep. The hiccups continued.

Even though I knew better, I went online to find any cures we hadn’t tried, and what might be the cause of this. If you ever want to confirm that what you have is fatal, go to WebMD. On Day 3, he went to the doctor. The physician’s assistant helpfully told him the story of the longest recorded case of the hiccups, which was 68 years, and that when the hiccups finally subsided, the man died. One of the dangerous fall-outs from managed care in our healthcare system is passive-aggressive provider humor.

Huband’s doctor told him it was most likely caused by reflux, and gave him some medication as well as instructions to cut coffee, booze, high fat foods, and eat less in the hours before going to bed. Since we normally eat our main meal in the evening, this meant finding lighter options.

The hiccups finally went away. But after experiencing a solid week of hiccuping, Jewish Husband has seen Jesus and continues to follow his doctor’s instructions. It is conveniently winter, so we have been having a lot of homemade soup and vegetable stews for dinner.

This lentil stew has become one of my favorite winter dishes. I learned to love lentils late in life. I always resented lens culinaris, even though I enjoy them in Indian cuisine, as well as in the homes of French friends (lentilles is one of the many common French dishes that never appear on French restaurant menus). The reason for my lentil hatred was that, for some reason, lentils were favorites of carob-eating health food faddists in ropey sandals. Even worse, whenever I read a news article about food insecurity in America, there is always some unhelpful know-it-all in the comment section saying that poor people just need to eat inexpensive root vegetables, and recommending they “make healthy lentil stews.” Commenters in the New York Times advising poor people what to do are the gristle of the internet. Second only to commenters offering unsolicited diet and exercise advice. (“I am 70 years old and have been thin all my life. I walk every day. I eat a cracker when I get hungry in the afternoon…”) I don’t want to say what I want to have happen to their typing fingers.

Here then is my healthy low-fat low-cost lentil stew, which I have tarted up to call lentil “ragout.” The ingredients are those for a cacciatore, with a bit of miso added to give it some more savory bottom notes to what is a very a bright sauce.

Lentil Ragout

Ingredients:

olive oil
2 carrots peeled and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 red pepper thinly sliced lengthwise
salt and pepper
2 tbsps capers, drained (you can add more if you like)
3 tbsps tomato paste (recommend double concentrated)
1 tbsp miso paste
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2-3 tbsps sherry vinegar (can use red wine vinegar, but recommend using a bit more)
14-oz can tomatoes, crushed by hand in their juice
¾ cup red lentils (can use other kinds of lentils as well)
parsley to garnish

Instructions:

In a Dutch oven, or any heavy pot with a lid, heat a few glugs of oil over medium temperature. Add carrots and pepper. Add 1 tsp of salt and pepper to taste. Cook until softened.

Add tomato paste and garlic, and fry, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste turns a deep red. Add miso and fry for a minute or two. Add vinegar and cook until nearly all the liquid has evaporated.

I learned from Alison Roman a number of years ago that the most delicious canned tomatoes in sauces and stews are those that you crush yourself by hand. But if you have a can of pre-crushed or diced tomatoes, that’s fine too.

Add tomatoes and their juices, red lentils, and 2 cups water (can use a bit more if you like it on the soupy side). Season again with salt and pepper as needed. Bring to a boil, partly cover, then reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are cooked through. Red lentils don’t take long to cook. Stir from time to time.

Garnish with parsley and top with a few grindings of pepper.

Serves about 4.