Green Lentils, Spinach and A Hard Boiled Egg

I can feel the energy in the air today. It's windy and the trees are swaying. As I stare out at the Pacific Ocean tiny white caps quickly come and go. There are many cars on the main highway as the town gears up for the week-end. It is Friday night....

The recipe today suggest that you soak the lentils 1 hour before cooking. I wondered about this, I've heard it before. Why and is this necessary?

From what I understand after a few google searches is that first and foremost there are many different opinions. But it does not appear lentils need pre-soaking but can be pre-soaked to improve digestibility and reduce cooking time. So I soaked. Even after soaking this was an easy meal to put together. Very tasty as sauteing the onions brought a little sweetness to the dish which offset the earthiness of the lentils. The wilted goodness from the fresh spinach was delicious and the hard boiled egg on top was nice but not necessary.

This recipe has been slightly adapted from Deborah Madison's, The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" For exact recipe consult the book. Serves four as a main dish.

Ingredients:

1 cup green lentils, sorted rinsed, and soaked for 1 hour.
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 to 3 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 onions, (cut into 1/4 inch rounds)
1 bunch fresh spinach, leaves only (cut into ribbons)
1 clove garlic, (minced)
1 hard boiled egg, (cut into sixth's)

To prepare:

In a medium sized sauce pan add drained lentils and cover with 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer about 25 minutes. Drain, set aside, reserving the broth.

In the meantime, in a wide heavy skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter and saute until they are golden, about 10 minutes. Set them aside. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to pan, and then add the spinach, garlic and a few pinches of salt and cook until wilted.

Add the lentils to the pan with the spinach. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Then add the egg. Enjoy!