Dinner on new year’s eve: lentils in the soup pot
It does not always have to be carp. Sure, in all of us is genetically stored what our ancestors experienced in the stone age, what they hunted and what went into their cooking pots. It may be that adam gerollheimer once lost the scales of the carp he ate at the winter solstice in his cave. In the spring he met eva feuerstein. The two of them became a couple and made a covenant for life in the summer in front of the druid. When eva feuerstein-gerollheimer found the scales of a carp in the hollow in the rauhnachten of the following winter solstice, she resolutely swept out the remains of the meal. If she hadn't done that, the family would certainly have missed the fact that at that very moment a sable-toothed tiger was stalking towards them, which in turn had chosen the feuerstein-gerollheimers family as its new year's eve menu. We do not know, but it could have been so. From then on, the scales scattered in the cave were stylized as lucky charms, and a ritual was born.
In times of fast food, facebook and twitter, such customs have of course passed their zenith. The most ancient semesters still distribute the scales of new year's eve carp in the house and hope for luck for the whole year. Ts! It is rather conceivable that virtual sheds, so-called cookies, are distributed worldwide on the web and signal to the NSA: all clear, friends, everything is harmless on this PC, no reason to panic, there are no terrorists at work here ; ). The wimps read it with pleasure, are satisfied and never again burden the respective PC owner with the infiltration of curious trojans. This is the contemporary version of gluck.
Peas become euros
with peas and lentils it has surely a similar reason: the hulsenfruchte are not unsahnlich money munzen. So we shovel as much of it as possible down our gullets and hope for the autosuggestive power of self-fulfilling prophesies. The deeper metaphor: that peas turn into euros, lentils into pennies and that we rake in all the gold spun from straw into our moneybags. The more the better. To have is better than to need. You can't have enough mammut-schauferla in the cave. The next ice age is sure to come.
Enough of this nonsense about our ancestors, who can no longer defend themselves. Probably someone blob at some point had enough of the eternal rabbit leg and the ozelotohrchen at the turn of the year. Or pure necessity simply forced schmalhans to become the cake master and to eat millet porridge and pea puree from october to may. New year's eve was no exception. No matter why, need arise and keep. In our widths, the classic new year's eve menu should not be without a lentil dish. Whoever eats plenty of hulsenfrucht on new year's eve, so it is said, will be granted wealth and blessings in the coming year.
At least in theory. Hulsenfruchte contain purines, and these demand the gout. But this property is also attributed to meat, alcohol and some other stimulants. The popular saying is that pea soup prevents from fever. An investigative research on the internet could not verify this theory. Neither the sun disk of nebra nor the furst of the glauberg brought new realizations to the light, and also edward snowden lacks realizations for this.
What did our ancestors not get us into with their needs fermented into traditions?? In italy for example red underwear is an absolute must on new years night. Who would like to be happy and successful (berlusconi has here need), should slide with red wash into the new year. Department stores and lingerie stores are therefore changing their wash display after christmas. No matter whether lace panties or boxer shorts – the main thing is red. Now you may speculate yourself, which fertility rite of our ancestors may have produced this need.
The traditional italian dish is pork knuckle with lentils. Berlusconi's compatriots think that the hearty food brings happiness in money matters. Pecunia non olet, money doesn't stink, said the ancient romans. But a lentil soup does start to smell if you leave it too long after a bunga bunga new year's eve party. Tradition, on the other hand, demands that you leave some of your new year's eve food until new year's eve – otherwise you'll have a shortage on the table all year long.
Neither lentil soup nor flour pancakes were enjoyed by the spaniards. On the iberian peninsula, on the other hand, things get a little stressful shortly before midnight, because at every stroke of the bell a bunch of grapes is eaten, and only when all of them have been eaten at twelve o'clock sharp is there nothing to stand in the way of happiness in the coming year.
Recipe by rico pfitzner for pureed lentil soup for new year's eve
Ingredients to cook for four people, you need 200 grams of red lentils, three medium onions, a clove of garlic, a ginger, three medium potatoes, a bunch of vegetables (a carrot, celery, two inches of leek), the juice of two limes, 800 ml of coconut milk (or substitute cream), olive oil, salt, black pepper, cane sugar, sesame seeds to roast the broggerla, cumin, and approx. A liter of water.
Preparation red lentils have the advantage that they do not need to be soaked, but washing is still recommended. First put olive oil in the pot; add the chopped ginger and garlic and glaze (briefly sweat) together with the soup vegetables, then add the onions, deglaze with water and coconut milk and when it starts to boil add the lentils. During the cooking of the lentils do not use acid and salt. Finally, add the diced potatoes to the pot. When it comes to seasoning, cross-cutting and cane sugar come into play. The cooking time is determined by the time it takes for the lentils to cook – about 45 minutes. During cooking, keep adding water as you see fit so it doesn't turn into a thick pudding. When the lentils have swollen, puree and season with lime juice, black pepper and salt. If you like it spicy, you can add a little cayenne or chili.
Background rico pfitzner, head chef at the rodiger hotel-restaurant in staffelstein, compiled the recipe especially for FT readers. The 34-year-old was guided by the idea that a traditional meal should be served on new year's eve that is nevertheless quick and easy to prepare, and not according to the motto "the same procedure as every year" has arisen. Seasoned properly, soup outshines many a hearty meal, as the spices and ingredients ignite a fireworks display for the taste buds. On new year's eve, the lentil soup can be quickly reheated at an early hour or after the boller and tastes even better then for sure.