Puy lentil soup - what's in a name?

Lentil, Tomato and Pasta soup, with raw Puy lentils and frozen pesto cubes

My bet is that most people don't think of lentils as a gourmet food – let alone one that would qualify for an AOP - Appellation d’Origine Protégée européenne. (The highest level of 'brand' protection that can be given in Europe for a premier traditional food produced in traditional ways, which is only awarded to 'un produit exceptionnel dont les qualités gastronomiques proviennent de son terroir d’origine' – an exceptional product, the gastronomic qualities of which are due to its soil of origin.) Yet this protection was afforded to a little green lentil in 2009. 

No one can market lentils as 'Lentille Verte du Puy' (green lentils from Puy) unless they have really been grown in the district of Puy-en-Velay in the Haute-Loire region of France. The lentils grown there have their own botanical name, Lens esculenta puyensis, and the particular top variety grown, Anicia, is named after an ancient Roman town in the Puy district. As well as being of the Puy genetic strain, AOP certified Puy lentils must also be grown without artificial fertilisers of any kind. This is because their superiority (like the superiority of AOP wines) comes not just from the variety of plant grown, but also from the terroir – the soil – it is grown in. The character of that soil is believed to be present in the food or drink grown in it.

A load of old lentils, or what? Having never tasted authentic Puy lentils, I can't say. The ones I made this soup with came from Canada, as I was informed when I talked to Tineke at Piko Wholefoods, where I bought them. She said that people had tried to grow them in Canterbury, but the summers are not hot enough here. They are apparently having better luck in Hawkes Bay, but at this point most of the organic lentils sold in New Zealand (of all kinds) are imported from either Canada or Turkey.

The soup I made the other day from the Canadian 'Puy' lentils tastes pretty good to me. I got the original recipe from Tamasin's Day-Lewis's delightful book West of Ireland Summers: Recipes and Memories from an Irish Childhood, but have tweaked it a little, especially with the addition of basil pesto at the end of the cooking. I am able to do this in winter as well as summer because I froze cubes of pesto made with homegrown basil and parsley during the summer months in ice cube trays, and have been keeping them in plastic bags in the freezer since then. When I want to add a pesto flavour to something I just defrost a couple of cubes.

If you wish to know more about Puy lentils (and can read French) you can check out the official website of La Lentille Verte du Puy, where they call it 'the vegetable caviar' and say that the blue marbling on authentic Puy lentils is due to the presence of anthocyanins – a form of antioxidant with many health benefits. But I think the taste of the soup will be enough to recommend them to you...

A Puy lentil plant

LENTIL, TOMATO & PASTA SOUP

Ingredients

4 T olive oil

2 onions, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 celery stalks, sliced

1 C Puy lentils

400g can of chopped tomatoes in their own juice (or home-bottled equivalent)

7-8 C water

2 t tomato paste

1 vegetable stock cube

1 T tamari

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bayleaves

1 t salt

pepper, to taste

1 C small pasta (e.g. macaroni)

1-2 T basil pesto

Parmesan cheese, grated

Method

In a large, heavy pot or casserole, gently sauté the onions, garlic and celery for 10 minutes or so, until soft and translucent.

Add the lentils and roll them in the oil.

Add the tomatoes and bring the mix to the boil, then add the water, tomato paste, stock cube, tamari, thyme, bayleaves and salt and pepper.

Cover and simmer until the lentils are cooked (40-50 minutes).

Add extra water if necessary, to keep the liquid level above the lentils.

Cook the pasta separately in boiling salted water, drain, and add it to the soup with extra water if necessary.

Swirl the basil pesto through the soup.

Serve with a bowl of grated Parmesan to sprinkle over each soup bowl, and garlic bread.