COMMENTARY: Much-maligned lentils reversed a lifelong jinx

The world is divided, as we know, into winners and losers and for the most part I have been a loser.

It’s not that I haven’t tried to win a few contests or enter a lottery or put my name and five cereal box tops into the mail for a chance to win a new KitchenAid mixer or a bag of cat food. I’m competitive enough but 99% of the time I fail at these contests and just waste my stamp. Which is why the only game I will play with my grandchildren is Bingo because half the time they’re goofing off and forget to cover the right number, which gives me a better chance to win.

My old friends, Nancy and Dona, used to tell me that the reason I never won anything — like the Publishers Clearing House, which they entered faithfully every year (and never won, either, I might add) — was because I had a defeatist attitude. You have to think like a winner, Nancy and Dona said, if you want to be one.

I have a lot of respect for my good friends and took their criticism to heart, even though changing my attitude didn’t improve my luck. But, recently, with that in mind, I entered a USA Pulse contest where all I had to do was submit my favorite pulse recipe.

(You know what pulses are, don’t you? Beans, chickpeas, lentils and the like. Not that thumping you feel in your wrist or your neck to check if you’re still alive).

So I sent in the name of my simple Lentil Tamale Pie recipe and, lo and behold, I got an email message back that I had won! A few days later I received a big box of pulse products — canned lentils and beans, chickpea snacks, lentil pasta, pulse flour and rice and chickpea butter spread. I felt like Beyoncé at the Grammy Awards, only without the makeup and costumes.

I have long been a fan of lentils and chickpeas even though I had never heard of them before I moved to the Camas Prairie half a century ago. Everybody thinks Idaho is all about potatoes but not everyone knows that, at one time, this area was known as the Pea and Lentil Capital of the World. It’s a title that one would think would inspire grand buildings and celebrations and maybe even a World’s Fair. But it seems nobody gets too excited about the humble lentil, packed with protein and folate and other stuff that’s healthy for you.

And just try and mention that lentils and beans could be an excellent replacement for beef and other animal flesh and you’ll find out what it feels like to be set out alone on an ice floe. Americans love their meat and things like vegetables need to remember their place on the food chain. Great in salads or soups, perhaps, but no substitute for a thick, juicy steak.

It’s not only consumers who think lentils don’t amount to a hill of beans. I have actually heard farmers who raise lentils say they would not allow them in their house. Seriously. That’s like banning your own children to sleep in the barn. Shame on you, lentil-hating farmers.

So that’s why I entered the pulse contest and won with my simple Lentil Tamale Pie recipe — just to show that it can be done and even though they’re weird, lentils taste great. I had no idea I might actually win — and some smart aleck suggested it was probably a marketing campaign and 1,100 other people won, too.

That’s fine with me. We’re an elite class.

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.

Recipe for Kathy’s Award-Winning Lentil Tamale Pie

FILLING

1-¼ cup dry lentils

3 cups water

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ chopped white onion

½ chopped green pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

1 14-ounce can tomato sauce

1 package taco seasoning

Dash hot sauce

CRUST

2-¼ cups yellow cornmeal

2 cups water

1 12-ounce can evaporated milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 4-ounce can diced green chiles

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Slice jalapenos (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and saute onions, pepper and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Add lentils, tomato sauce, water and seasoning mix. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer partially covered, 35 to 40 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 12-by-8-inch baking dish. Combine corn meal, water, evaporated milk and salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently for 5 to 7 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Stir in chiles. Reserve 2 cups cornmeal mixture and cover with plastic wrap. Spread remaining cornmeal mixture on bottom and up sides of prepared baking dish.

Bake for 10 minutes. Cool dish on wire rack. Spoon lentil filling into the cornmeal crust and spread reserved mixture over the filling. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Garnish with jalapenos.