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WELCOME TO FOODS FROM LE
BERRY and neighbouring departments of CREUSE AND ALLIER
Discover the many regional products
and foods from Le Berry, in the heart of France.
BERRY LENTILS
Berry lentils are green lentils grown in the
Berry Region of France (Indre and Cher).
Berry lentils are the same as Puy Lentils
and other green lentils, with the exception that they are grown in only
these two departments of France.
Only buy Label Rouge Berry Lentils - these
are guaranteed to have been grown locally to a high standard.
The Berry lentil has regained in popularity
since 1999 when a group of farmers formed to reintroduce growing in the
region. The Berry Lentil is second in popularity in France to the famous
Puy Lentil (from the Puy de Dome region of France).
The Berry lentil has a wonderful nutty earthy flavour and is high
in protein. It takes just 25 minutes to cook and can be added to many
recipes as well as being a stand-alone dish or side-dish to accompany
meats or vegetables.
A Berry Lentil flour is also available which
makes an excellent thickener to soups and sauces.
You can buy Label Rouge Berry Lentils (Lentilles
Verte du Berry) in most supermarkets in the departments of Indre and Cher.
A Packet is around 1,80€
Referred to by the Romans as a "poor man's
meat" the lentil is highly nutritious and very economical. It is high in
fibre, has slow in releasing sugars (good for stabilising sugar levels)
and is an excellent source of folic acid and potassium.
The Berry lentil retains its texture and
form during cooking (ie. it doesn't disintegrate into a mushy mess) and is
excellent cooled and used in salads.
Lentils do not require soaking. Do not add
salt until the end of cooking (if at all). Do not add ingredients high in
acidity (vinegar, tomatoes etc) as they can slow and even halt the cooking
of the lentil.
A basic lentil recipe is:
Fry a chopped onion in a little butter for a
few minutes until tender. Add some chopped carrot and a teaspoon of herbs
(herbs de Provence). Sauté a few minutes then add twice as much vegetable
stock to the volume of lentils you are going to cook (ie 1 cup ful of
lentils to 2 cupfuls of stock). Bring the stock to the boil. Add the
lentils, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Most of the liquid will have
been absorbed. This makes an excellent side dish to fish and rice. To this
recipe you can add a clove of garlic at the onion stage. You can add curry
spices also to make curried lentils. Try experimenting.
Lentils go a long way. Try cooking a cupful
to gauge how much you need to use in future recipes.
Nutritional Information
Green lentils are rich in vitamins B1, B2 and B6 and provide four times
more fibre than pasta, rice or potatoes. Green lentils also contain 7
times more iron than spinach and 3 times more calcium than grains. They
may be a great help in lowering cholesterol. They are more easily digested
than beans.
Green Lentils are best consumed with rice
(preferably brown rice) to maximise absorbing the nutritional benefits.
FOODS FROM LE BERRY
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us about anything to do with the subject of Central France.
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