Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a food bloggers’ event at Cirrilo’s, a cooking school in Etobicoke. The event celebrated Canadian celebrity chef, Michael Smith’s new video series (who was in attendance), Lentil Hunter, where he travelled to five different countries, trying various lentil recipes. The countries were: France, Italy, India, Dubai and Morocco, each with its very unique dishes. Perhaps one of the most interesting was a lentil souflée from France. Yes, lentils. In a dessert. Who would have thought? The dish was made with green lentils, star anise and the basic souflée ingredients. At the event, it was served with a tiny scoop of ice cream.
French Lentil Soufflé with Star Anise, served with a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream
In addition to the delectable French dessert, attendees had the chance to sample dishes from each of the five countries Chef Smith visited. My favourite has to be the crispy lentil fritters from Dubai. They’re actually very easy to make with no bread crumbs needed. It’s just red lentils, water, salt, onion, ginger root and cilantro. It’s a great appetizer if you’re entertaining! The lentil stew from Morocco (Moroccan lentils and bread) could have been a bit better if the bread wasn’t a bit on the stale side.
A display of crispy lentil fritters (Dubai)
What was interesting about the event was not only because the chef made a personal appearance and discussed his travelling experience and the show itself, but also because it celebrated Canada and Canadian products. Yes, lentils are a Canadian food. In fact, at the event, many of us learned that Canada is a leading country in lentil growth and export – more than India! That’s a whole lot of dal! Catch all five videos of Lentil Hunter on the Canadian Lentils website.
