Sprout Your Own

This Friday is the Persian New Year, Noruz. An ancient Zoroastrian celebration of the Spring Equinox, one of the features of Noruz is a ceremonial table filled with things that represent a happy future, growth, promise and so on. One of those things is a plate of sprouts, usually lentils.

Looking at the plate of lush sprouts that I started from regular supermarket lentils i was reminded of the bean theme I've been thinking about so much. I realized that just like reconstituting dried beans, growing your own sprouts can save a lot of money, especially if you buy them from the supermarket.

Sprouts are great in sandwiches or juiced with fruits and vegetables. Lentil sprouts taste a bit less "green" than the traditional mung bean sprouts, but they are very pleasant.

You can use this method I describe with mung beans as easily as lentils and your cost will be pennies on the dollar. I bought a 1 pound bag of Goya lentils for these sprouts at a cost of about 79 cents. I used roughly a quarter of the bag to produce this plate. An equivalent measure of sprouts in the grocery store would cost roughly 2 to 3 dollars.

Here's what I did:

1/4 cup lentils
8 inch plate
3 Paper towels, dampened
large zip top bag

1. Rinse the lentils in cool water and plate on the plate.
2. Pour just enough water to soak the lentils but not cover them onto the plate.
3. Place the paper towels over the lentils and then place the covered plate inside the ziptop bag.
4. Leave the bag open and place on a counter just outside of direct sunlight.
5. The lentils will sprout overnight. Within 36 hours, remove the towel but leave the plate in the bag, opened.
6. Once the sprouts are tall enough to have begun to push against the top of the bag (about 5 days) remove from the bag and allow to grow for 4 days more, or until they reach roughly 5 to 6 inches in length.
7. Snip, eat, and enjoy!