Lentil Cappuccino, "Trompe l'oeil" in the kitchen

When what you eat is a surprise, and it is also tasty, the pleasure is double.
Today I bring you a different way to prepare and eat lentils, very easy to cook and with a lot of fun. But before let me explain to you something about the title of this post.

What is "Trompe l'oeil?

It is a technique from the artistic painting world, in which the author tries to deceive the eye with his picture, making it visually look like one thing and be something else. For example, the windows of the photo are painted on a wall where there is nothing but a wall. The visual effect makes us think theY are real.
Well, this technique is also applicable in the kitchen, so today, I would love to show you how to make a very Spanish culinary Trompe l'oeil.

Homemade Food

One of the quintessential home-cooked meals in Spain is lentil stew. Mostly cooked with carrot, onion, garlic, leek, bay leaf, potato, and pork meats such as chorizo, ham and black pudding. You can find the full recipe for "Lentejas a la española" by downloading my book for free at this link.

When I was a kid, In my generation, not many children enjoyed lentils, and we used to say as an excuse a popular sentence: "lentils, old people's food if you want, eat them, if you don't, leave them". But when you get older, I don't know why, but you become a fan of a delicious lentil stew. Maybe the popular sentence is right.
Today we will have fun in the kitchen, making this traditional stew more appealing for children and adults.

Lentil Cappuccino Recipe

• Preparation time: 15 min
• Cooking time: 35 min

Ingredients: 6 tapas dishes

For the lentils

• 250 g lentils
• 1 carrot
• 1 turnip
• 1 stick of Celery
• 1/2 leek
• 1/2 Onion
• 2 cloves of Garlic
• 1 leaf of Laurel
• 50 g Spanish ham
• 1 tbsp Paprika (Pimentón)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• 1,2 l of water

For the foam

• 250 g boiled potato
• 150 ml cream
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 100 ml of the water used to cook the potatoes
• A Siphon and two capsules

For the decoration

• Sumac powder
• 2 Chorizos diced

Method

1. Place the lentils in a medium pot and the rest of the roughly chopped vegetables. Add a piece of Spanish ham to give some extra flavour if you eat pork. You can also keep the recipe vegetarian.
2. Pour the water into the pot covering up to two fingers over the vegs.

1. Add the paprika, cumin, pepper, salt and the bay leaf. Place the pot over high heat until boiling.
2. f there are any impurities, skim off the foam and then lower the fire. Cover it with a lid and leave them cooking for 35 minutes. This time may vary depending on the type of lentil. Check in the label of the lentils; you will find the producer cooking time recommendations.

1. Once the time has elapsed, remove the ham and bay leaf from the pot. Pour the content into a food processor to blend it.
2. Pass it through a strainer and bring it back to the boil, adding some water if necessary. Correct the salt.

Meanwhile for making the Potato foam

1. Pour the cream, the water from boiling the potatoes, and the olive oil into a small pot. Place it over medium heat and add the previously cooked potatoes and salt to taste.
2. With the help of a whisk, break up the potatoes and when it starts to boil, remove them from the heat.
3. Filter the mixture and if you have a siphon, put the mixture in it, close it and load it with two capsules. Shake vigorously, and it will be ready to use.
4. If you don't have a siphon, whisk the mixture with a whisk until you get the right texture.

1. To serve, take a pretty glass or cup and fill it a little more than halfway with the lentil cream.
2. Then top it off with the potato foam and finish with the sumac powder, imitating the cocoa of the cappuccino.

You can serve it with chorizo as I have done or simply serve it plain, so you can fool your guests easily. I encourage you to prepare this fun tapa dish, and you will have a great time seeing the surprised faces of your guests when they try it.

Have a Tasty Day !