Lentejas de Convento Poblanas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Lead-free 12-inch cazuela de barro or heavy Dutch oven
• •Cast iron comal for roasting chile, jitomate, and poblano
• •Blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer or colador de palma lined with cloth
• •Deep Talavera poblana serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the lentils

   Pick through the lentils and remove any stones. Rinse until the water runs clear, then cover with cool water and soak for 30 minutes while you make the recaudo. This is not because lentils are difficult. It helps them cook evenly and keeps the skins from splitting into mud.

2. 2

   Toast the chile

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile ancho for 10 to 15 seconds per side, just until it smells like raisins and warm chile. Do not blacken it. Cover it with hot water and let it soften for 15 minutes. On the same comal, roast the jitomates and chile poblano, turning until the tomato skins blister and the poblano is charred in patches. Put the poblano in a covered bowl for 10 minutes, then peel, seed, and cut it into thin rajas.

   Chile ancho is dried poblano. It gives dark sweetness and body, not a fight. Not all Mexican food is hot. That lazy idea has ruined many pots.
3. 3

   Fry the thickeners

   In a lead-free cazuela de barro or heavy Dutch oven, warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-low heat. Fry the almendras de Castilla until pale gold, then lift them out. Fry the torn pan de agua in the same oil until the edges are crisp and golden. Add the finely chopped onion and chopped garlic to the pot and cook until soft, not brown. The convent kitchen wastes nothing: the oil now carries almond, bread, onion, and garlic.

4. 4

   Blend the recaudo

   Drain the ancho. In a blender, combine the softened ancho, roasted jitomates, fried almonds, fried bread, cooked onion and garlic, jerez seco, the two cloves, the bloomed saffron with its water, and 1 cup fresh water. Blend until completely smooth. Pass it through a fine colador, pressing hard with a spoon. Pasar por colador is not decoration. It makes the broth clean and keeps the chile skin and almond grit out of the refectorio bowl.

   Two cloves means two little nails, not two teaspoons. Clavo de olor walks into a room and takes over if you let it.
5. 5

   Fry the recaudo

   Add the remaining olive oil to the cazuela and warm it over medium. Pour in the strained recaudo. It will sputter. Stir and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, until it thickens, darkens to brick red-brown, and a clear olive oil sheen appears at the edges. This step is why the lentils taste built instead of boiled.

6. 6

   Simmer the lentils

   Drain the soaked lentils and add them to the cazuela with 7 cups water, the whole onion half, the 2 whole garlic cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, then lower the heat so the surface barely moves. Do not use a pressure cooker here. The lentils, vegetables, and recaudo need watching. No me vengas con atajos.

7. 7

   Add the vegetables

   After 20 minutes, add the chayote, carrot, and xoconostle. Simmer 10 minutes. Add the ejotes, elote, poblano rajas, and epazote. Cook 10 to 15 minutes more, until the lentils are tender but still whole and the vegetables keep their shape. Remove the onion half, whole garlic, bay leaves, cinnamon, and epazote sprig.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Take the cazuela off the heat and let the lentils rest for 15 minutes. Taste for salt. The broth should be thick enough to coat a spoon but loose enough to ladle. Serve in a deep Talavera poblana bowl or straight from the cazuela, with toasted slivered almonds on top and pan de agua or warm corn tortillas at the table. Quiet food is still serious food. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.

Chef Tips

• •Buy small lenteja pardina if you can. The large flat lentils collapse faster and give you a cloudy pot. Ask the women at the market which lentils hold their shape. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado.
• •For vigilia, no meat and no animal fat. Some convent ledgers mention carnero with lentils for ordinary meals, but that is another pot. Add mutton and you are no longer cooking this Lenten dish.
• •Use only lead-free cazuela de barro for simmering. Old decorative barro can carry lead glaze. If you are not sure, use a heavy Dutch oven and serve in Talavera. Safety first, pride second.
• •Xoconostle gives a quiet cactus acidity that belongs to the central plateau. Look for it at Mexican markets near the nopales. If you cannot find it, finish with 1 teaspoon cider vinegar. That is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Do not skip frying the recaudo. Raw blended jitomate and chile taste thin. Fried recaudo tastes like someone in that kitchen knew what she was doing.

Advance Preparation

• •The recaudo can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Fry it again in a spoonful of olive oil before adding the lentils so the flavor wakes back up.
• •The finished lentils keep refrigerated for 4 days. Reheat gently with a splash of water because the lentils keep drinking broth as they sit.
• •This dish is better after a few hours of rest. Make it in the morning for the evening refectorio table and it will taste more settled.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)