Medieval Middle Eastern Lentil Dish_Adasiyya

I made this Dish for the March 2014 Cooks Guild Meeting on Lenten Foods. Lent during the middle ages Lent lasted for 40 days and during that "fast" no eggs, meat, or dairy was to be eaten. It was essentially a Vegan diet except that seafood was permitted. A lot of beans, almond milk and winter fruits and vegetables were eaten.

I think it was the first time I put saffron into a dish. As soon as you add it the color suddenly changes and becomes bright. I liked this dish and will probably make it often.

http://www.fearlesskitchen.com/2012/07/recipe-medieval-lentil-dish-adasiyya.html

... No medieval source from the Islamic world, at least no medieval source from the Islamic world that I've found, has the incredible volume of legume recipes that al-Warraq has left us.  As a result, I couldn't help but refer to him, over and over again.  I'm going to try to space out the recipes over a very long time here in order to minimize the impression that this blog devotes itself to tenth century Baghdadi cuisine, although that is a very tempting option sometimes.  

As a side note, I wonder why al-Warraq has given us so many more vegetarian recipes than other sources.  Vegetarianism was never a popular option in this time period in this part of the world, although I suspect that many poorer people followed a vegetarian lifestyle out of necessity rather than choice.  Legumes certainly find their way into other recipes from other places, and into other recipes from other times in the same place.  Why are so many of the vegan recipes only found in al-Warraq?  It probably doesn't matter, it certainly works out to my benefit, but I am curious.

Anyway, this is the first of the recipes I served at this year's Maine celebration.  It is the first because it starts with the letter A.  Like all split-lentil dishes it cooks up very quickly.  I needed to make quite a lot of it, but I learned in a previous disaster that lentils don't scale up well.  They burn a lot.  For that reason, I made three smaller batches at the same time.  If you're not cooking for an indeterminate but large-sized crowd, feel free to reduce all amounts by about a third.  I have to admit that I could not add the sugar.  I just couldn't make myself do it, and I realize that I sacrificed authenticity but I just couldn't stomach the thought of making this dish sweeter than it already was.  I felt that the onion was very sweet as it was. 

Adasiyya (serves about 20; approx. $0.33/serving)

3 onions, chopped, divided

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

6 cups split lentils, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

6 tablespoons vinegar, divided 

3 pinches saffron, divided

Water

Equipment:

• 3 medium saucepans

1. Combine 2 cups lentils with 1 chopped onion, 2 tablespoons oil and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in each saucepan.  
2. Add water to amply cover and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for a while.
4. When the lentils are about half cooked - they will begin to disintegrate, but about half of them will still look whole and they will not be quite tender - add the vinegar and the saffron.  Continue to cook until they are almost dry and the lentils are tender.  
5. Cool and serve.