Green lentil
Lens culinaris · Legume
Top 10 pairings
The green lentil is a whole, hull-on cultivar group of Lens culinaris whose seed coat ranges from pale sage to mottled khaki and slate-green, often flecked with darker speckles. Larger and firmer than the common brown lentil, it holds its shape and a pleasant al-dente bite through long cooking, with a robust, peppery, faintly nutty and grassy savour — the classic salad and side-dish lentil, of which France's small, dark Puy lentil (lentille verte du Puy) is the most prized type.
Picking a good onedrag
Whole, dry and evenly colouredBroken, dusty, damp or musty
Ordinary bagEverydayFor dal, soup or salad, simmer until tender all the way through. Raw or half-cooked lentils are indigestible.
The seed itselfMostly whole, a few chipped coats
Shake of the bagPour freely, light dust on fingers
Smell in the bagAlmost nothing, plain and papery
These cues are Lentil's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.