Loving lentils
Peter Phillips is a passionate promoter of pulses. As director of food and event services at Innovation Place, a research park in Saskatoon, Canada, he’s become convinced that pulses (especially lentils) are the future. “It’s sustainable and we need to find a cheap way to feed the growing world population,” he said.
During the course of his work with the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Pulse Canada and the Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership (STEP), he’s worked with seven varieties of lentils. His lentil marinara sauce mimics the texture of ground meat, and recipes for pickled mustard lentils, lentil chili, muffins and other baked goods that need bulk are flavorful alternatives to the “real” thing.
“I made a dark chocolate lentil cake pop with cocoa powder plus red lentils—they cook quickly; that is, they break down easily,” he said. “It’s like a cake ball (or lollipop) on a stick that we dip in melted chocolate couverture.”
In speaking with his traditional protein purveyors who regularly stop by Innovation Place, Mr. Phillips can’t help but joke with them: “I tell them that with pulses you will never hear of a salmonella poisoning or a ‘Mad Lentil’ disease outbreak.” Pulses, he explained, are a safe form of protein that will not easily spoil if kept dry.
Using bean flours and purees
Brad Gray, culinary arts instructor at Red River College, Paterson Global Foods Institute, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, has been working on a special assignment. He has been developing recipes and formulations for the Manitoba Pulse Growers during the past year, with a focus on developing recipes using navy, pinto and black bean flours. With an initial focus on pasta, he found navy bean flour was a good fit because of its color. “Like wheat flour,” he explained, “its flavor isn’t quite as strong as black bean.”
However, black bean flour became a key ingredient in Mr. Gray’s pierogi, a tasty dumpling recipe. “Once you parboil the pierogi, the filling takes on a more dominant role—you want to taste the filling, not so much the pasta,” he said.
Using pulse flours in baking applications, Mr. Gray has occasionally added some wheat flour in cakes, tortes and other baked goods to add structure. Black bean flour has played a winning role in a chocolate cake and he found that by replacing milk with navy bean puree, he could achieve a consistency similar to crème brulée. “About 40% of the whipped cream was replaced by the navy bean puree,” he said. “As garnish on top, we did a shortbread cookie crumble using the navy bean flour.”
Since pinto bean flour is a bit heavier and boasts a stronger flavor and texture, he suggests it’s better suited for a savory crust for chicken pot pie or beef tourtière, for example. Meanwhile, navy bean or chickpea puree may replace dairy in a smoothie, he finds, while chicken and waffles becomes a healthier menu item with an easy substitution of pulses: “You can replace cracker meal with coarse ground chickpea as coating for the chicken, then use some navy bean flour in the waffle batter.”
When not in the classroom at Red River College, Mr. Gray may be found “behind the wall” at Stony Mountain Institution, a correctional facility in Stony Mountain, Manitoba, Canada. There, in his role as food service steward, he practices “stealth nutrition” as he tweaks the four-week cycle menu to make meals more nutritious—and delicious.
“About a year ago, when I put a three bean stew on the menu (it included chickpeas, navy beans and kidney beans), one unit said they’d riot if no animal protein was menued, so we sent them chicken burgers,” he recalls. “The next time three bean stew cycled ’round, they threatened to riot if they didn’t get a bigger portion of the stew since they’d learned, meanwhile, that it was high in protein.” A prison riot averted, and Mr. Gray learned it’s not only millennials seeking higher protein intake.
