LENTIL AND LEEK SALAD

Serve this salad by itself or over a plate of mild-flavored mixed greens, very lightly dressed with oil and vinegar. A mix that includes some Chinese greens would be great.

1/2 lb. dried lentils (3 cups cooked)
2-3 medium leeks, white only, chopped (2 cups chopped)
1 Tbs.+ 1 tsp.olive oil
about 1/3 cup plump raisins
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 large stalk celery, thinly sliced
2-3 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb. fresh spinach, sliced in 1" strips
a squirt of lemon juice

Simmer the lentils in well salted water until tender, about 20-25 minutes, then drain.

Sauté the chopped leeks in one tablespoon of olive oil until they are soft and just barely beginning to turn color. Meanwhile, plump the raisins in about a cup of scalding hot water for at least ten minutes, then drain well.

Combine the cooked lentils, the sautéed leeks, and the raisins. Add the parsley, cilantro, sliced celery, rice vinegar, and half a teaspoon salt, and toss gently but thoroughly.

Add another teaspoon of olive oil to the pan in which you sautéed the leeks, and stir the minced garlic in it for about a minute. Add the spinach and toss over high heat just until the spinach is wilted and the excess water cooks away. Squirt a little fresh lemon juice on the spinach, toss again, and add it to the salad.

Toss the salad again, and taste it. Season with salt, fresh ground black pepper, and more rice vinegar or lemon juice, to your taste. Then let the salad marinate for an hour, and taste it again. If you're not worried about your fat intake, you can drizzle on a little more olive oil.

This makes about six servings.

ASPARAGUS AND BARLEY SOUP

I love mushroom and barley soups, but they are always deeply flavored and earthy, full of carrots and turnips and other wintry things. In short, they're perfect for winter. But this week, with the cool weather lingering, I wanted a soup that combined the comforting quality of barley with the fresh flavors of spring - asparagus, fennel, leeks and baby dill. This was the result: a soup of great delicacy and flavor, yet substantial enough to make a meal.

The vegetable broth you use for this soup should be flavorful but not overwhelming - nothing with tomatoes, nothing overly carroty. And go easy on the salt until the final seasoning.

3/4 cup pearl barley
8-10 cups delicate vegetable broth, preferably home-made
3 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
2 leeks, white only, chopped
12 oz. white mushrooms, oyster and champignon
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb. fresh green asparagus
1 large fennel bulb
2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
2 Tbs. lemon juice

Rinse the barley and combine it in a pot with four cups of the vegetable broth. Simmer it on a very low flame for about an hour, or until it is tender.

Heat a teaspoon of olive and the teaspoon of butter in a non-stick pan and cook the leeks in it, over a medium flame, until they are just soft. Stir the leeks into the barley.

Clean the mushrooms and slice them thinly, cutting them in half first if they are very big. Add the remaining two teaspoons oil to the pan and stir the garlic over a medium flame for a minute or two, then add the mushrooms. Salt them lightly and sauté them until they are just beginning to color.

Meanwhile, trim the asparagus and slice off the tips, then continue slicing the stalks, at a slight angle, into thin slices. Cut the trimmed fennel bulb into wedges and slice them crosswise, very thinly.

Add the sautéed mushrooms, the asparagus, fennel and dill to the barley and leeks, along with another four cups of the vegetable broth. Simmer the soup for about fifteen minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender. Stir in the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste, and as much more of the vegetable broth as you need to make a soup of the consistency you like.

Serve this soup garnished with dill sprigs, and for a treat, add a spoonful of creme fraiche.

Makes about 8 servings.