Sprouted Lentils

As a child, my parents co-owned a small sprout business based in Montana and only recently have I revisited the culinary practice of sprouting seeds. Germinating seeds into sprouts for consumption, either raw or cooked, is most commonly known as sprouting. Sprouting has a long history of use among humans, recorded by Chinese physicians thousands of years ago; sprouting continues to be a popular culinary tool in present day societies. To sprout any seed, two basic steps need to be followed including soaking the seed in water for a period of time and draining the seed thus exposing the sprout to oxygen required for continued growth. Seeds germinate best at temperatures around 60-75 degrees out of direct sunlight. Different seeds have different soaking and draining requirements, depending upon the dormancy of each seed. Sprouted seeds are a versatile ingredient and may be consumed raw or cooked depending upon the seed sprouted and personal preference. For more information on sprouting any number of nuts, seeds and grains, visit sprout people.

½ c lentils

water

1 quart glass jar

cheese cloth

rubber band

1. Place the lentils in the quart glass jar. Add about 3 c water. Cover the opening of the container with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band. Keep the container at room temperature out of direct sunlight. Soak the lentil for 8-10 hours.

2. Leaving the cheesecloth and rubber band intact, drain the lentils, thoroughly rinse them and drain again. Place the drained lentils at an upside down angle, to allow proper and thorough drainage (e.g. on an angled dish rack). Keep the upside down container at room temperature and out of direct sunlight for 24 hours, allowing the lentils to sprout.

3. Drained and mostly dry sprouted lentils may be kept in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.

Makes about 1 c sprouted lentils