Black Beluga Lentils, our latest discovery

12 years ago

Doug and I don’t usually shop for groceries at Target Super Stores, but we found ourselves wandering through their grocery aisles before the holidays making note of some rather interesting products. One such item was a pouch of black beluga lentils, already cooked, and according to the microwave instructions on the pouch, ready-to-eat in 90 seconds. We’d never encountered these before, so feeling adventurous, in our cart it went.

Archer Farms Black Beluga Lentils

NOTE: Black beluga lentils are petite, black lentils which have a resemblance to beluga caviar. They’re perfect in soups and salads, and are a good source of protein and fiber.

At the beginning of the new year, I reorganized my pantry and noticed the black beluga lentil pouch sitting there, begging to be used.

It was a soup- kind- of- day, so I decided to make– you guessed it- Black Beluga Lentil Soup. Yield: about 5 to 6 servings

Here’s what I did:

· finely chopped a small onion, minced a clove of garlic and sautéed them in a wee-bit of olive oil in a 3-quart pot – until the onions softened.

· poured in a 32-oz. box of low-sodium chicken broth.

· added about 1 cup of frozen, chopped spinach, some seasonings, and let it all come to a boil.

· reduced the heat, added the pouch of pre-cooked beluga lentils, partially covered the pot, and allowed the soup to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Served with a small salad, this made a perfect lunch.

Just so you know: the 2-serving pouch contained more than enough lentils for the soup recipe.

Would I buy Black Beluga Lentils again? Definitely!

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View Comments

eric says:

February 7, 2012 at 10:35 am

Hello Cooking Friends,
Very interesting, up till now I only know the green, red and brown lentils... the greens I liked most, pity I can't find the Belugatype here! Nice blog, I prepared the Douzma...you showed on youtube, delicious!
Grtz from the Netherlands
Eric
- Robyn says:
  
  February 7, 2012 at 7:10 pm
  
  Eric,
  Welcome to The Armenian Kitchen! We're so glad you stumbled upon us. Are there any Middle Eastern stores in your area? If so, perhaps they carry black beluga lentils.
Anonymous says:

February 10, 2012 at 10:56 pm

Found Beluga black lentils at Whole Food Market, Pasadena CA. Raw, uncooked. Will try this week-end the recipe for this gold mine lentils. It is the name of the brand actually. It says it is cultivated in Syria, but was imported from Canada.
Robyn says:

February 10, 2012 at 11:36 pm

Good to know! I'd love to hear how your recipe turns out.
Anonymous says:

November 15, 2012 at 1:19 am

Anyone ever having trouble finding ANY ingredient (such as these lentils) check out kalustyans.com, or visit their store on Lex in NYC. Place is a treasure trove of great stuff.